Taming the Dragon
by Oh Hello World
Summary: Grandfather Sakura desperately wants to see his precious granddaughter settled and happy before he dies / "She would instantly fall in love with me," Natsume informed him very matter-of-factly, "and I don't need another fangirl hanging around. Besides, if she never knows I can be human, then you're just a senile old man trying to convince his granddaughter to be with an animal."
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice _._**

 _Shameless fluff set in medieval times._

* * *

When Mikan Sakura returned to the village, the second thing her neighbors told her was that her grandfather had gone missing. For the sixth time.

As a child, Mikan often threw tantrums, very loud ones, so her neighbors had grown well acquainted with her absolutely piercing screams. Of course, she had been gone for the last two months to visit her best friend, Hotaru Imai, who had left the village to pursue her dreams as a merchant, so as time took its due course, they had forgotten - and sometimes even missed - Mikan's voice.

And now that Mikan was back, her neighbors suddenly remembered how loud she could get.

"What?! When had this happened?" Mikan screeched. Her neighbors winced and took a small step back from the seething young lady. "How could he have gone missing? He's 87 years old! He needs a cane to walk! He's so lazy! He doesn't even want to walk to the market anymore!"

"Well," the husband started, but the brunette cut him off.

"Do you have a search party out for him? Why aren't you more worried about him? He's _old_!" Mikan waved her hands about emphatically, and her neighbor had to duck to avoid a swinging arm.

"Mikan, honey," the wife said soothingly, "like we said, it's the sixth time he's done this. He usually returns in a few days."

"Well, how long has he been missing?" Mikan demanded, eyes blazing, arms crossed, and lip jutting out in a pout, just how she had looked as a child.

The couple turned to each other to deliberate.

"About eight days?" the man offered.

Mikan swore her heart clenched so hard she thought she was having a heart attack.

"Eight days?!" she bellowed. Her neighbors nodded mutely. "He needs his special herbal ointment applied every three days so his joints don't act up!"

With another terrified scream, Mikan promptly turned around and ran down the lane to the edge of the village, forgetting about all her chests and bags to be unpacked.

Her neighbors watched her stomp away and nearly drooped in relief, finally able to breathe and relax.

"I can see why her grandfather didn't want to be here when she got back." Her neighbors chuckled and decided to help move some of Mikan's things inside.

* * *

"Oi, old man. Get up. It's time to apply your special herbal ointment so your joints don't act up."

Nonno Sakura ignored the rumbly, gruff voice and instead slid farther down into the pleasantly warm water, eyes closed and muscles happy. Why couldn't that grumpy delinquent let him relax? He was old, after all. He deserved this little joy in life.

"I'm serious, old man. If you don't get out, I'm not going to do it." The voice paused. "Honestly, it's disgusting."

"Yet you still do it every time, Natsume," the old man replied good-heartedly, opening one eye to sneak a peek at the young man's expression. Sure enough, there was that ever-present scowl. If Nonno had to describe Natsume's passions in life, there would only be two: gold and being grumpy no matter what.

"Because if I don't, it's such a hassle getting you to move anywhere, and you start to _whine_. 'Oh, Natsume, can you get my book from the table?' 'Oh, Natsume, my hips hurt so much,'" mocked Natsume in a high-pitched voice. The elder chuckled before deciding not to torment Natsume any longer. He stood up slowly, his joints definitely in need of some attending. "God _damn_ , old man, what the hell did I say about wearing a towel?"

The old man simply waved his hand at Natsume and suddenly found himself smacked in the face with a nice, fluffy towel.

"Why, thank you, Natsume," he said with a grin. "You're being awfully kind today."

Narrowing his eyes, Natsume sneered. "Nobody, especially _me_ , wants to look at your naked wrinkly body."

"And still, you're about to touch every inch of it." He met Natsume's deadly glare with a playful grin.

"...Don't ever say that ever again."

Despite Natsume's brutish attitude, he extended a hand to help the old man out of the hot springs and back to a small wooden cabin hidden in a clearing surrounding by tall, looming boulders.

Mikan's grandfather, Nonno Sakura, had accidentally stumbled across this cabin - and across Natsume - about two months ago. He had heard rumors from the other seniors of his village of a healing hot springs, the kind that could rejuvenate you with one dip, bring back your youth and fix your creaky, stiff body. Since his granddaughter had gone away, Nonno had to learn how to get around on his own, and rather than simply adapt to a more independent lifestyle, he decided to take a shortcut and try to regain his youthfulness.

It didn't work.

Still, the hot springs he had discovered was enjoyable, and the young man he had found, after some persuasion and grumbling, was willing to help.

Which included rubbing a stinky cream over his aching body parts.

"You know, my granddaughter never complains when she does this." Although Nonno had to admit, Natsume definitely massaged the ointment better into his skin with stronger, less clumsy hands.

Natsume rolled his eyes. "Oh, yes, the pure and kind-hearted Saint _Mikan_. Who could ever live up to her name?"

The old man merely hummed thoughtfully, taking the time to think about his decision again.

Tall and lean, Natsume Hyuuga was a catch, for sure. With brilliant crimson eyes, a sharp chin, and a head full of hair - something the grandfather quite envied - Natsume was a devastatingly handsome young man who was sure to produce many healthy, beautiful babies. Sure, he was a little rough around the edges; when the old man first met the lad, he had a fiery temper and a dangerous look about him, the kind that said, "Don't let your precious granddaughter near me because I'm sure to knock her up ten seconds within meeting her." But Nonno saw the way Natsume welcomed him into his home, the way he begrudgingly carried out the old man's errands, the way he gently helped Nonno get around. Natsume grumbled and complained and acted brusquely, but there was compassion and respect and the capacity to care for others in his heart.

And well, as he got older, Mikan's grandfather had a lot to think about, starting with the fact that _maybe_ it wouldn't be such a bad idea if his granddaughter did get knocked up, especially by a thoughtful and caring man such as Natsume.

Partly, he would be overjoyed if he lived long enough to hold his great-grandchild, but mostly he knew that when he was gone forever, Mikan would have nobody. Her parents' death had wrecked her when she was little, her best friend had moved away, and while she had other friends and certainly other villagers would always care for her, Mikan's grandfather couldn't rest until he knew she was settled comfortably in the arms of someone who loved her.

It was pure chance that he and Natsume met, but it would be the sheer willpower of an old man that Mikan and Natsume met.

"You're done." Natsume patted the grandfather's leg and stood up. "I'll go make us some lunch."

"Thank you, Natsume," said Nonno. "Do we have any lamb left? A nice, hearty stew sounds especially filling today."

"No, but I can go get some."

"Oh, no, Natsume, you don't - "

Natsume ignored the senior's pathetic plea. "Oh, look, I'm already out the door."

The old man smiled. Yes, judging by the way Natsume took care of him, he knew the quiet, brooding man could definitely take care of his granddaughter.

However, there was that one problem…

A strong gust blew against the old man's face as Natsume soundlessly morphed from a strapping young man who was _definitely_ human into a gigantic, fire-breathing winged beast with golden-red scales the color of a dying sunset. He beat his long, powerful wings twice (unpleasantly blowing debris into Nonno's grimacing face) before shooting off into the sky.

As he watched Natsume fly away in search of some poor farmer's lamb, Mikan's grandfather wasn't entirely sure how she'd react if he tried to set her up with a _dragon_.

...

He could still try, though.


	2. Found

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.**

 _Shameless fluff set in medieval times._

* * *

Mikan had never been the brightest of her bunch in regards to academics. If her teachers had to describe her with one word, sure, "bubbly" and "lovely" would be definitely be popular, but "slow" would be at the back of everyone's mind. However, when it came to her grandfather, Mikan was surprisingly efficient.

Within a day, she had managed to harass every friend her grandfather had in the village about his potential whereabouts, bully his good friend Hitoshi into drawing up a map to the rumored "Hot Springs of Youth," clean her house, prepare for her quest, feed a stray cat, and have a short, restless sleep.

If her teachers recalled correctly, Mikan had always arrived predictably late to her first class of the day and to every club meeting. Yet, when the issue was about her grandfather, she had risen before the first rooster crowed and was already geared up and ready to go as the sun began peeking over the hills.

So imagine Narumi Anju's surprise when he found his favorite former student, cheery and awake, at the crack of dawn with a backpack, looking as though she were going on an adventure to slay some dragons.

"Mikan-chan?" he called out cautiously. Was that really her? Maybe a ghost had possessed her body? Was she being kidnapped?!

But when she turned around at the sound of her name, the smile on her face was definitely Mikan's, bright and confident.

"Narumi-sensei!" she called back, waving enthusiastically.

"Mikan, what a happy surprise to see you again! Welcome back!" He embraced her tightly. "But what are you doing up so early?"

"Well, you see…" and Mikan started her wild tale detailing her adventures after a tender farewell from Hotaru's new home in the city, her small mishaps on the road traveling back, the elation she felt returning to her beloved village, the despair and agony she had felt upon discovering the absence of her precious grandfather, and then her frantic preparation to quest to find her grandfather and bring him back to her! "And I will not give up until he is safe at home with me!"

She pumped her fist in the air, eyes shining.

"Ah, but Mikan-chan," said Narumi worriedly, "what if _you_ get lost? What if you encounter thieves on the road? Or worse!?" He shuddered at the possibilities.

"Don't worry, Narumi! I can take care of myself! And…" she pulled out the map Hitoshi had made for her. "I have this map! It'll tell me exactly where to go."

It was a very poorly drawn map.

There was a picture of a house and a series of dotted lines leading to a triangle (mountain?) with an X drawn on it. And also some very crude drawings of trees.

"Er," said Narumi with hesitation. "I think we all would feel better if you brought someone along to help you. Like Tsubasa, maybe?"

"Tsubasa has his own family to worry about," Mikan reminded, referring to his heavily pregnant wife and rowdy three year-old twins. "I can do this. Besides, I'm sure Grandpa remembered that I was coming home soon so he's probably super eager to see me!"

With that, she bid farewell to her favorite former teacher, her beloved village, and began her quest to bring her grandfather home!

* * *

Nonno Sakura was super eager to finally see his granddaughter again! Though he was getting old, he had carefully kept track of the days and weeks in his head and surmised that his lovely, beautiful Mikan was returning home today! (Give or take a couple of days.)

"Can you stop pacing?" Natsume said, eyes still glued to the book in his hand. "It's annoying as fuck."

"Sorry, Natsume." Nonno leaned against a boulder, scanning the wide horizon and gentle blue sky. Was she out there?

"Why are you so restless today anyway?"

Judging by Natsume's personality, Nonno was sure the young dragon would react badly if he knew he was trying to match him with his granddaughter. "Stop meddling in my fucking business!" Natsume would roar, breathing out gigantic flames, burning Nonno into a pile of ash. Sure, maybe he would feel guilty and grieve for Nonno after the fact, but Nonno wasn't really in the mood to die any time soon.

Not when his precious granddaughter still lived without a husband!

"I'm an old man, Natsume. I'm exercising to keep my body working." He did a few stretches.

Natsume scoffed and continued to read.

* * *

Eight minutes later, Mikan Sakura was lost.

"Maybe I should have asked Hitoshi to put directions on here," she muttered, trying to figure out which tree in the forest corresponded with which line on the map. She turned the map upside down and right side up, over and under, wondering which direction she should have even been headed toward in the first place.

Then she looked up.

"Oh!" she cried. "There's a mountain!" The "mountain" was more of a glorified hill; it was definitely an exercise to climb it, but it wasn't unscalable. It seemed fairly close by, more than half of it visible over the treeline.

She nearly smacked herself as she remembered there was only one mountain around the village for miles. With his old age and laziness, of course her grandfather could only make it to the closest one!

* * *

Suddenly Natsume sat up, surprising Nonno with how alert he looked. His ears imperceptibly twitched and he looked up and around the clearing in suspicion. "Someone's coming."

Nonno almost squealed in excitement. Was it his precious granddaughter?! He knew she could do it! Good work, Mikan!

"Coming _here_?" Nonno inquired innocently, barely masking the energy in his voice.

Natsume turned his head this way and that way. "I'm not sure… But someone is definitely coming up this mountain. I think they're going toward the caves. Probably going to get lost, stupid idiot."

He relaxed back onto the ground, content with letting whoever it was wander around before deciding to return to wherever that person came from.

Nonno started to panic. He needed to make sure they met! He needed Natsume up and ready to woo his Mikan!

Slyly, Nonno planted the idea in his head: "Toward the caves where all your treasure is hidden?"

There was a pause as Natsume's mind worked out the implications. He suddenly pounded his hand on the ground and stood up, throwing his book to the side.

"My gold!" Natsume snarled before transforming into a dragon and whooshing off to the caves.

Nonno watched with amusement and joy as Natsume rushed off, probably going to sweep his granddaughter off her feet with his sharp claws and powerful teeth.

 _Wait…_

Nonno nearly stopped breathing as he realized what he had just done. What if it _wasn't_ his precious granddaughter? What if it was just some lost traveller and now whoever it was had to face a furious dragon? Did he just _kill_ someone? Natsume was not known for having an even temper, even much less so when his gold was concerned.

Even worse, what if it _was_ Mikan? Nonno had lavished Natsume with all of Mikan's wonderful qualities, but he had forgotten to mention what she looked like! What if he just ate her up without even letting her explain!?

"Oh no," he moaned, slumping down, head in his hands.

Should he really have unleashed a ferocious beast?

* * *

 _Wow_ , was Mikan's only thought. When Mikan had visited Hotaru, her best friend had already gained quite a reputation and was starting to accumulate wealth. Mikan had been momentarily dazzled by the money and the jewels and the finery Hotaru had shown her, but this…

"This is incredible!" she shouted, her voice echoing back in the spacious cave. Mountains of gold coins, gold crowns, gold jewelry, gold _everything_ lined the walls of the cave she had stumbled into. She hadn't really been certain which way to go on the mountain to find the hot springs, but she had followed her instincts and sure enough, they had led her into a series of tunnels that eventually turned into a vast cave filled with _gold_!

"I wonder who lives here," she mused to herself, still admiring the sight.

Then she nearly smacked herself again. "You're not here to look at pretty things! You're here to find your grandpa!" she chided. "Grandpa? Are you here?"

A huge, deafening roar answered, causing Mikan to scream.

"Grandpa?!" she cried out again. "Is that you?"

A blast of air sent Mikan tumbling to the ground as she saw for the first time the source of the roar.

An enormous red scaly beast stomped into the cave, its body taking up most of the space and suddenly Mikan felt trapped. It let out another roar, much louder than the last, making Mikan cower and run for cover. Its eyes looked straight at Mikan and pierced her. It was a freaking _dragon_!

Then it charged toward her. She jumped up and ran away.

"This is _my_ gold!" the dragon howled, tail flailing about. " _Mine, mine, mine_!"

A set of claws swiped at her, and Mikan nearly lost her head as she ducked just in time.

"Wait! Mr. Dragon - Mr. Dragon, please, I just - " She avoided a swing of his tail. "Could I please - Ah! - Mr. Dragon!" Moving quickly, Mikan soon realized that his movement wasn't erratic and saw that Mr. Dragon actually wasn't trying to kill her anymore.

Mr. Dragon clambered onto his pile of gold, sending a few items clanking to the ground. He roared again as he beat his wings once. Mikan braced herself. The dragon crouched protectively over the mountain of gold, claws and wings extended.

"This gold belongs to _me_ and _only_ me!" he growled as he glowered at Mikan with vivid _red_ eyes. Mikan almost lost herself in them, scared witless, until he puffed a breath of smoky air into her face. "So go away before I eat you!"

"Mr. Dragon, wait, please don't eat me!"

"I _am_ going to eat you! You're trying to steal my gold!"

"I'm not going to steal your gold! In fact, I can give you some if you want!"

Mr. Dragon stopped flailing about and peered at Mikan incredulously. He drew his face closer to hers, and Mikan froze in her place, not daring to move. He exhaled through his nostrils, hot air blowing against her face.

"Show it to me," he demanded, watching her carefully.

She pointed at her bag a few meters away, which she had accidentally let go of in the ruckus. "It's in there."

"Show it to me," he repeated impatiently.

Mikan shakily nodded and slowly walked over to her bag, where she was sure some gold coins were inside. Thank Hotaru for her rare moment of generosity!

"Take better care of yourself, you idiot," she had said flatly while pressing the money into Mikan's hand. It wasn't too much, but a gift from Hotaru should always be appreciated!

She dug around in the bag, but she hadn't packed too many things, and it was obvious after a few moments that _maybe_ she had accidentally left it at home...

Mikan chuckled weakly and flashed a quick smile at the dragon. "It's pretty deep in the bag."

The dragon moved until she could feel his head hover above hers, breathing steam into her hair.

"You have ten seconds to tell me why you're here or I'll eat you." Mikan nearly screamed as she felt the dragon gently fit his mouth over the top of her head. "Stop crying!"

Gulping down her tears, she hurriedly explained, "Um, Mr. Dragon, please, I'm looking for my grandpa. His friends from our village said he came here looking for the hot springs. Have you seen him? He's pretty old, wrinkly, and has white hair."

The dragon drew its head back, and Mikan sighed with relief, as a new, strange look came to its eyes, as though he were appraising her. She tilted her head back to look at Mr. Dragon. "He would have come by around nine days ago."

" _You're_ Nonno's precious granddaughter?"

Mikan's face brightened. "That's him! Is he around here somewhere?" She eagerly awaited his reply.

But the dragon didn't say anything; he just kept _looking_ at her. Finally, he spoke, "He didn't tell me how ugly you were."

It took Mikan two seconds to process what he had said before she stood up to face him and smacked the dragon's snout. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean? Huh?!"

Instead of eating her or burning her, the dragon merely snorted. "It means you're ugly as hell." Mikan put her fists on her hips. "Also, the way he was talking about you, I could have sworn you'd be nicer. Why would you hurt a poor, defenseless creature such as myself?"

"Because you're being rude! You can't just tell a girl she's ugly! Especially one you just met!"

The dragon _actually_ rolled his eyes and started to lumber away from her, having discovered she wasn't really a threat. Just a nuisance.

"Wait, Mr. Dragon!" she called after him. "Where are you going? Where's my grandpa?"

"You're so slow, too." Mikan made an indignant sound at the back of her throat. "Follow me. I'll take you to your grandpa."

Forgetting his insults, Mikan cheered up and smiled, running after the dragon as fast as she could. He made no effort to slow down for her human legs so she had to jog to keep up with him.

"My name is Mikan Sakura!" she managed to say between breaths. "What's your name?"

The dragon continued to ignore her as he led her back out the tunnels and down a different path around the mountain.

"Hey! You're supposed to say your name back when someone tells you their name!"

The dragon suddenly stopped and whirled around, pushing his face right against Mikan's. She instinctively flinched. "And you're supposed to _shut up_ when a fucking _dragon_ that can still eat you decides to be nice and help you find your grandpa," he snarled before whipping his head back around and continuing down the path.

"Wow, you're a really grumpy dragon," she muttered before she decided to comply with his order and shut up.

Nonno fretted and paced even more. Natsume hadn't been gone for _too_ long, but he was gone long enough to have eaten someone!

Then, from a distance, came a "Grandpa!"

Nonno broke into a wide smile as he stood up and saw one giant dragon sauntering down and one beautiful, lovely, precious granddaughter running towards him!

"Mikan!" He opened his arms, and she ran straight into them, hugging him tightly. He kissed the top of her head many, many times. "I missed you so much!"

She rubbed her face affectionately against his chest. "I missed you, too, grandpa!" she shouted right into his ear.

Then she pulled away and scowled at him. "But I would have missed you less if you had been home when I came back! I was really worried, you know."

Nonno nervously laughed. "Sorry, dear, but I couldn't stay cooped up in the house all alone!"

"But you wouldn't have been alone! You have friends, and neighbors, and I said I'd return in two months."

He waved his hand at her to dismiss her logic. "The mountain has been good for me. I get fresh air, exercise, the relaxing hot springs, and this," he gestured to Natsume, who had laid down on his belly, all stretched out, "wonderful person has been keeping me company."

Natsume rolled over so his back was towards them. "I didn't want to. You just pushed your way into my home."

"Eh?" Mikan gaped. "The dragon? But he's so _grumpy_!"

Nonno laughed. "That's just how Natsume is! He's actually very kind and generous and has the warmest, gentlest heart you - "

A spurt of flame came close to Nonno. Natsume had gotten back up and gave Nonno a dirty look.

Mikan giggled to herself. Now that her grandfather mentioned it, the dragon hadn't actually hurt her or her grandfather, and even though the dragon said some mean things, Nonno looked at him fondly and playfully. Surely, if the dragon were truly mean, her grandpa wouldn't act that way with him; he would treat any wicked person with coldness. She didn't doubt the dragon had a tender heart. After all, if her grandfather had really been disappearing here all this time, then _someone_ had to have been helping him.

"Mr. Dragon," she said politely, and he swung his head toward her. She bowed low, and when she stood up straight, she beamed at him. "Thank you for taking care of my grandfather!"

Natsume acknowledged her thanks with a dip of his head. Then he used his tail to push and slide Nonno and Mikan toward the edge of the clearing. "Now the two of you can go on home and leave me alone forever."

"Natsume!" Nonno protested. "I haven't even shown my granddaughter around."

Natsume insisted, "You don't have to. You're leaving now, and you're never coming back anyway."

Something clicked inside his head and he looked at the dragon tenderly. "I see now."

Natsume paused. "What?"

"You've come to enjoy spending time with me, and now you're sad to see me go so you're pretending it doesn't hurt," he explained gently. Natsume instantly scoffed.

Mikan gasped softly and placed her hand over her heart. "Aww," she cooed.

God, this was sick. They were looking at him which such...such... _mushy-ness_.

He glared at the both of them. "No. Stop saying such lies. I really do want you gone."

"A couple of days, Natsume, let us stay for a couple of days," he pleaded, "and then we'll go back home."

Mikan blinked. "A couple of days, grandpa? Are you sure?"

"See? Even your own granddaughter doesn't want you to stay here," Natsume pointed out. "Now off you go." He nudged them with a couple of claws.

They both ignored him. What the fuck? He pushed them even more, but they swatted at his claws, lost in their own conversation.

"Mikan, since I've been up here, I've never felt better in my old age. I feel much healthier than when I was in the village. Just look at me," Nonno said, paying no attention to Natsume's persistent pushing.

Mikan examined her grandfather more closely as she slapped the dragon's pushy paw away. She had to admit, her grandfather seemed more energetic and more lively. He stood up straight with bright eyes and a healthy complexion. She remembered the days when she literally had to pick him up from bed to drag him to go somewhere, _anywhere_. She was so anxious back then, thinking every little sign of sickness, every cough, every sneeze could mean the end. But looking at the old man in front of her, he seemed far from death.

"Okay," she relented, nodding slowly. Nonno cheered and clapped his hands. "We can stay here."

"No, you're not," growled the dragon. "This is _my_ home, and I want you both to go."

Nonno wrapped his arm around his precious granddaughter and pushed past the dragon. "Mikan, over here is the quaintest little cabin you've ever - "

Natsume's tail came down right in front of Nonno, blocking his path. "We're staying in the caves," he said firmly.

"So we _can_ stay here!" Nonno cried excitedly. Mikan smiled at her grandfather's trick and at his energy. He was right: staying up here had been good for him.

The dragon stared at him and started shaking. Suddenly, he tilted his head back and roared, sending a great swirling column of fire into the air. Nonno, used to Natsume's outbursts, merely laughed; Mikan, on the other hand, trembled.

"Damn it!" he grumbled. "Go get your things, and your _precious granddaughter_ can bring them up."

Nonno gleefully went to retrieve his things, leaving Natsume alone with Mikan.

"So," Mikan started, her fear of the dragon quickly evaporating, "your name is Natsume?"

He swung his head down to her eye-level, pushing his snout so close to her, it almost brushed against her nose. "Look, I really don't want you or your grandpa messing around my home much longer so you two are going to stay a couple - maybe just one - of days, and then you are _leaving_. Got it?"

Mikan gently pushed him away from her face and coughed. "Ugh, you breathe out a _lot_ of hot air, you know that?"

Natsume pushed his snout right back, ignoring her comment. "And furthermore, we need some ground rules. Number one is you _don't_ bother me. Number two is you don't fucking _touch_ my gold. You don't steal my gold, you don't _look_ at my gold, you don't even come anywhere near it. It's _my_ gold," he said viciously.

"Okay, okay," Mikan said. "I get it. It's your gold."

"And lose the attitude or I swear I'll eat you." He finally pulled his head away.

Mikan smiled at the dragon. "Don't worry, I'll try to make it as bearable as possible." Then she had a thought. "Hey, has anyone ever ridden you?"

"Jesus Christ, are you going to be asking questions all the time?"

Mikan frowned. "It's just a question!"

Natsume was about to respond, but Nonno interrupted them with a happy, "I'm ready to go!"

Mikan's eyes widened at the amount of things her grandfather had brought with him. "Why do you have so many bags?!"

"It's just four," he said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, but what do you have in them?" she exclaimed. "How are you supposed to carry all of it up to the caves?"

"I mainly have medication and important things like my special herbal ointment, my xiangqi set, some pictures of you, pictures of your mom, pictures of me," said Nonno as Mikan's jaw dropped in disbelief, "and I'm still an old man so you and Natsume can carry it up!"

"Fuck no," said Natsume instantly. "Your precious granddaughter is here. You said she likes to help people. Sounds like a job for her."

Mikan glared at the dragon. "Are you not going to help?"

Natsume shook his head stubbornly.

"Why can't we just climb on top of you and ride you back to the caves?" Mikan suggested. "We can put the bags - "

Natsume's tail smacked Mikan lightly on the shoulder. "I'm not a mule," he said fiercely. "He's _your_ grandpa. Now pick it up and carry it before I eat you."

Mikan rolled her eyes. "Your threats are already getting old. There's no way - "

Natsume opened his mouth, letting Mikan view his sharp teeth.

"Okay, okay, here I go," said Mikan hurriedly, picking up the four bags. "Hey, this isn't so bad, just a little uncomfortable. Natsume, you should - "

" _Go_ ," he commanded, pushing her forward with his tail.

Mikan went, looking back over her shoulder. "Are you guys coming?"

"Go on ahead, Mikan," said her grandfather, "I'm going to be slow with these creaky old joints."

"I'll help him up," reassured Natsume.

Mikan beamed at Natsume again. "Aww, you really are a sweet -"

Natsume puffed a little flame at her.

"Okay, okay, I'm leaving."

Natsume waited until she was far up the path before he flashed back into a human and turned to Nonno with a "What the fuck?" look that transmitted many thoughts, such as, "What the fuck are you trying to do and why do you have to bring your annoying-ass granddaughter into _my_ home when you both could have just left and I could have just had some goddamn peace and quiet? Also, fuck you. Also, your granddaughter is _not_ as great as you described her."

Of course, Nonno couldn't read Natsume's mind or fully translate his meaningful looks so he only caught the beginning part. He held his arm out for Natsume, which he took gently as he always did, and they began the slow trek up.

"So what do you think about her?" asked Nonno innocently.

Natsume kept his eyes carefully on the path. "Your ugly granddaughter?"

A surge of protectiveness washed over Nonno. "Hey!" he cried out in outrage, but he could tell it was in jest.

Natsume smirked, and Nonno sighed. He would never get him to admit what he really thought about Mikan, and Nonno wanted so badly to know. He could tell he had opened Mikan up the idea of a sweet and gentle Natsume, but he still had a ways to go with convincing Natsume to go for his granddaughter. During the time he spent with the dragon, he had dropped innocuous little inquiries about Natsume's love life and what type of woman he liked. Natsume had shut that kind of talk down immediately. Natsume may be the right man for his precious granddaughter, but she would have to learn how to put up with his brooding quiet and his stubbornness.

Wanting to provoke more talk out of the taciturn young man, Mikan's grandfather whined, "I _hate_ sleeping in the caves. It's so drafty in there, and the ground is hard to walk on."

Natsume nodded understandingly. "That's because it's made out of rock."

" _Natsume!_ "

Natsume huffed, taking into consideration exactly zero of Nonno's concerns. "I don't want her poking around the cabin any more than she has to. An you know just as well as I do that the cabin is too small for the three of us. It barely fit us two since I had to sleep outside most of the time."

"That's okay. I have an idea. I can sleep outside and enjoy the nice summer breeze just as I did as a youth, and Mikan will obviously take the bed since she is my precious granddaughter, and since you're complaining so much about sleeping outside, you can take the bed with her."

Natsume snapped his head to glare at the old man so fast, he would feel a crick in his neck for days to come.

Nonno looked back innocently. "That sounds like a reasonable compromise that works for _every_ one so let's just turn around…"

Natsume sighed and almost hung his head in exasperation as the old man tried to hobble back down the path. He held on firmly to Nonno's arm and steered him forward the other way, the _right_ way.

"I am going to _hate_ living with the two of you," he told Nonno straightforwardly. Nonno simply smiled.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Each chapter will most likely be unedited, and I tend to write individual scenes that I later connect so please let me know if there are any continuity issues! I don't reply to reviews, but I certainly read, consider, and appreciate them. Thank you!**


	3. Lured

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.**

 _Shameless **fluff** set in medieval times._

 _Unedited as always._

* * *

Three hours.

He lasted three hours before he finally escaped from Nonno, that meddling ass, and his insufferable granddaughter, Mikan _fucking_ Sakura.

Rule number one, he had told her, was that she didn't bother him.

That message must have been lost inside that dense head of hers because "Do not bother Natsume" somehow translated to "Go ahead and look through every single cave and tunnel in his second home and exclaim loudly about what you find and have your annoying grandfather encourage you to touch everything Natsume owned, which included some very _personal_ possessions, and then yell as loud as you can to Natsume, despite him having extraordinary hearing and the cave echoing every word, and ask him questions about _everything_ despite him telling you to shut up or calm down."

Obviously, Natsume liked his space; he chose a widely connected series of numerous tunnels and vast caverns he could inhabit, but no matter which cave he moved into, no matter how far he tried to get away, no matter how much he tried to relax, he could always hear Mikan's shrill, idiotic voice.

She was a _parasite._

The only small ( _miniscule_ ) comfort he got was the fact that despite her lack of boundaries and her inability to take a hint, she had very _courteously_ stayed away from his gold.

But that still didn't make up for the fact that she had once promised him gold and hadn't given it to him.

What a liar she was, a manipulative, untrustworthy, wicked _liar_.

Just like her grandfather.

When she finally decided she was through searching through all of his things, Mikan cuddled with her grandfather in one of Natsume's more refurbished rooms and told him all about her adventures to see her best friend, some merchant in a nearby city (with lots of gold, probably). In turn, Nonno regaled her with tales about living with Natsume, which were all lies, lies, _lies_.

" _I've had the most fun here!_ " Well, Natsume sure hadn't.

" _Natsume treats me so well_." Natsume merely snorted.

Natsume's breaking point was when Nonno told her, " _He's a cuddly teddy bear. You'll love him!_ "

Three hours later, Natsume the fearsome dragon, _not_ a giant stuffed animal, was thoroughly exhausted and downright irritated. He needed space from the Sakuras. And he had that annoying crick in his neck that he needed to make disappear.

He lazed by the hot springs, enjoying the heat and the _quiet_ , gently dipping his tail in the water to swirl it around. Then he heard a small giggle and clumsy footsteps shuffling toward him.

He cursed everything about Mikan, he cursed her loud mouth, he cursed her grandfather, he cursed their entire ancestry, he cursed all of her friends and her friends' families for good measure. Could he have _no_ respite from her?

He heard her approach and begrudgingly opened one eye, only to see a _very_ undressed Mikan coming toward him with only a towel on.

Immediately his head snapped up with wide eyes, and he felt very tense; he was suddenly on edge.

"Have you _no_ modesty?" he hissed. He _knew_ she could see him perfectly damn well. He himself kept his eyes firmly on her face. "Put your fucking clothes back on."

"Natsume," she greeted happily with her usual self, paying no mind to her nudity. "I should have known this is where you ran off to. Grandpa told me all about the wonderful hot springs, and he told me to try them for myself."

Natsume puffed at the mention of her grandfather, laying his head back down, watching her carefully as she came to the edge of the bubbling hot springs.

She dipped a toe in and, enjoying what she felt, she gently lay her towel flat on a nearby boulder, leaving her stark naked, her body on display for all of nature to see.

 _God_ , she had no shame.

Natsume didn't even bother to avert his eyes. "You know I can see you naked."

Mikan lightly blushed, but then she boldly said, without a care, "You're a dragon. It doesn't matter." Nevertheless, she slid into the water quickly, relishing the rejuvenating sensation and relaxing with a sigh. Thank God she was submerged to her neck.

"I'm a _male_ dragon in case you haven't noticed."

She waved her hand thoughtlessly at him as she began to lightly tread the water. "It's like changing in front of a pet. You're just like any other dog or cat or fish. It's not like you could be, you know, _attracted_ to me like that." She hummed lightly as she explored the water.

"That's true," Natsume nodded thoughtfully. "Nothing could get excited by the sight of you."

Mikan froze, hands combing through her hair, then whirled around, narrowed eyes flashing. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just a dragon," he said innocently. "I wouldn't know anything. I'm just an animal."

For a few more moments, Mikan suspiciously scrutinized her companion, who stared back at her like he was a simple, harmless child. Then she broke the gaze and slowly turned back around to dip her face in the water, and she could have sworn, right before she went under, Natsume had snorted, "Flatlands."

But when she came back up several seconds later in outrage, he had closed his eyes and dozed off (at least, so she thought), hiding a smirk unbeknownst to her.

He had resisted the temptation to shift, to show her how much of a _man_ he was, but he knew to be cautious; he didn't want her to look at him when he was a human. In his experience, females, excluding those related to him, had only one reaction when they saw his handsome masculine features: instantaneous swooning. If Mikan Sakura was bothersome now, Natsume would much, much, _much_ rather prefer not to learn how annoying she could get if she were infatuated with him.

Additionally, Natsume knew that her old man had some sick, twisted idea of pairing him and her together, _romantically_ , as a couple. What a fool. It could never happen, and Natsume swore to himself to never let it happen.

Natsume vowed internally to hate Mikan Sakura for as long as he knew her. It was only a couple of days, right?

* * *

Natsume was not right.

A couple of days, Nonno had said, and then they would leave for their own home and never harass Natsume ever again.

"We'll be out of your hair soon," he reassured a scowling Natsume during another dinner prepared by Mikan after the fourth day. He had gulped down her horrible cooking and gone to sulk in his corner, his last precious marked-off territory that he had forbidden any Sakura from entering.

That was twelve days ago.

Every single day, he woke up, and they were still there, happily cooking breakfast, paying no mind to the seething, fire-breathing dragon whose privacy they invaded. Sometimes he lay there in his little corner, staring at the cave ceiling and wondered exactly what sin he had committed to have deserved this hell.

Every single day, it was, "Good morning, Natsume!" and "What are you doing today, Natsume?" and "Do you want to go outside, Natsume?" ("I'm not a fucking _dog_. I can go outside by myself.") and "Do you need help, Natsume?"

If he had thought Nonno's presence was invasive, Natsume had not properly prepared himself for the absolute _leech_ that was Mikan Sakura.

Every single _fucking_ day, when he thought he could escape and have some good old quality Natsume time, she would pop up with her blinding smile and attach herself to him. Not to mention her complete disregard of physical boundaries!

Natsume couldn't stress this fault of hers any further to her grandfather, who merely shrugged off his complaints whenever he started ranting about his "precious" granddaughter.

"Let's pick some blueberries, Natsume!" she would shout as she literally tried to pick up his heavy paw and tug him toward the fields.

"Tell me about when you were younger!" she would demand as she tried to snuggle with him after dinner, trying to curl her arm around him in an awkward hug.

"Why do you need so much gold?" she would ask with the audacity to try to climb onto his shoulder before he chucked her off when she was getting a little too touchy with the soft leather skin on the underside of his neck.

Then, taking his silence and his rebuffs as encouragement, she proceeded to lay out in extensive detail every aspect of her life for Natsume to hear.

His first instinct was to threaten to eat her again, but after the third or fourth time, she had called his bluff and figured out he wouldn't do anything besides halfheartedly and very, very gently nibble at her limbs ("No, really, Natsume, I insist! Take a bite!" "...I'm not interested in eating little girls.").

He had tried to run away next. But as though she had some sort of Natsume radar (or her fucking traitor of a grandfather told her where he would go), she would come along, yakking about some bizarre, inconsequential triviality about her existence.

He did _not_ need to know about how she met her best friend, Hotaru Imai (aspiring merchant with a greed for gold that rivaled Natsume's), during a festival when they were younger when the girl asked Mikan to be her singing partner (she actually directly quoted Hotaru and reenacted the whole scene, singing competition and all).

He did _not_ need to know her first kiss was when she had accidentally fallen on top of her classmate in second grade, and their teeth bumped together, and she was so embarrassed and distraught that she had vowed to only kiss her future husband from then on.

He did _not_ need to know about the time she had witnessed the emergence of a new butterfly from its chrysalis in her backyard garden and how she had sat watching it for hours, transfixed by the miraculous growth of life.

The only fun fact he had liked learning was the pattern of her panties, which was always _absurdly_ childish every day, but that was something he had to learn all by himself and something he wouldn't dare tell her he knew.

Sometimes, he wondered if she was in on the matchmaking scheme with her grandfather, because of how much time she wanted to spend with him, before remembering exactly how transparent she was with her life.

So transparent, she had even told him about the death of her parents and how devastated she had been that she had fallen into a depression for months. She told him how frightened she had been the time it had stormed and she had found her grandfather unconscious on the ground with a sprained ankle. She told him how much she had sobbed the night after her best friend's departure from their village.

She couldn't keep a secret if she tried.

Those things he felt uncomfortable knowing and he had almost felt something like a pang of sympathy before she ruined the moment, suddenly perking up and informing him, "Wow, I feel like I can really talk to you about everything! You're like the best pet ever!" Since he couldn't let her know how soft he was getting and how he was just about to comfort her, he had to keep up his gruff attitude and instead of wrapping her in his wings, he elected to set a good chunk of her hair on fire and told her she was stupid.

Then at night, he would lie down to sleep, curled up in his own nook, and she would spend a little bit more time tending to her grandfather, and he would hear her obnoxious laugh (Nonno's, he could handle because the old man chuckled _quietly. To himself._ ), and it would worm into his head. He _hated_ having her around. Even his dreams were infected by her, disturbing his once peaceful slumber with her annoying, high-pitched voice and pestering questions and random factoids about her life.

Mikan liked mangoes.

Mikan wore polka-dotted panties.

Mikan once pet a black cat in front of her grandfather in an act of rebellion, and it had bit her and she had thought she contracted rabies and so prepared for her own funeral until her best friend informed her that she was an idiot and showed her the facts.

 _Mikan, Mikan, Mikan._

And Natsume would fall asleep and wake up to a never-ending stream of Mikan Sakura.

* * *

On the afternoon of Day 17 with the Sakuras, Natsume broke.

He was resting peacefully underneath the cherry blossom trees when, of course, Mikan "The Non-Stop, Touchy-Feely Talker" Sakura came and sat right next to him, leaning against his neck, and starting yammering on about how she loved her grandfather and how one time when she was little, he had brought her to a festival and bought her a lantern to light for her parents.

Without thinking as always, she had the idea to start _touching_ him again; this time, she was stroking one of his several ridges trailing down the back of his neck. Repeatedly, he shifted so it would be out of her grasp, but her hand just kept coming back and her voice just kept on going and going, and Natsume hadn't had _any_ time to himself lately.

So, he just… _snapped._

He pushed her away from him before letting out a mighty roar. _Finally_ he could scream. Just from that one outlet, he felt so much better, but he knew there was only one thing that could satisfy his irritation.

"Is something wrong, Natsume?"

 _shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up_

He stomped away from her, his wings out and ready to take flight.

"Oh, are you going somewhere?

He snapped his head around to glare at her. "I'm going to get some fucking alone time for once!"

"Ah! Can I come with?" Her entire face was lit up with anticipation as though she seriously expected a yes for an answer.

" _No._ " He shot down that insane idea immediately. "You _cannot_ come with me because the point of me leaving is so I can be _alone_!"

With that, he launched into the skies, completely disregarding the girl he left behind in confusion and concern.

* * *

Natsume didn't want to think; he just needed to _consume_.

He had already furiously gobbled down four sheep, not minding the bits of fluffy wool stuck in his teeth, and was on the prowl for some delicious, mooing cow, when he heard them.

Lazily, he raised his head from his stealthy hunting to find some outraged farmers with their makeshift weapons, spears and tools, held high.

 _Whoops_.

Most of the time, Natsume didn't really pay attention to whose livestock he ate; he just ate as though they were solely there for him and his stomach, which honestly, he thought they were. Who just leaves good meat lying around in a field without any supervision?

Now in alarm, he flapped his wings hurriedly, trying to make his escape, but unfortunately, because he was such a glutton ( _Fucking hell,_ he thought to himself, _you really let yourself go._ ), the food settled heavily in his stomach, and one enraged farmer managed to land a spear right into his neck before Natsume flew away, back to his cave.

* * *

Nonno Sakura was resting easily in the entrance of Natsume's cave-home. He thought his plan was working quite well. Every day, he would send his precious granddaughter to Natsume on the pretense that the dragon really was just a lonely soul in search of a friend, and since Mikan was such a saint who couldn't bear the thought of someone without anyone in life, she would do her best to talk and bond and be his friend. His granddaughter really did have a talent for worming into people's hearts. Then, hopefully very soon, Natsume would realize he loved having the chatterbox around and would shift into his handsome human form and whisk his granddaughter off to a grand wedding and a long honeymoon from which they would return with Mikan happily pregnant. Then they would continue to make numerous wonderful babies together and Nonno would live out the rest of his life surrounded by many, many, many precious great-grandchildren!

He often spent his time alone working out the details of this daydream; his days were spent walking around the mountain, preparing the meals Mikan didn't make, enjoying the hot springs, fishing in the river, painting, and simply lazing about, fantasizing about the near future.

He even had his precious granddaughter and his precious soon-to-be grandson fighting over who would take care of him. For some reason Nonno could not fathom, Natsume stubbornly refused to change out of his dragon form whenever Mikan was around so he was no longer as capable of taking care of Nonno's needs, though the man insisted on it.

"You have _claws_ ," Mikan had said emphatically as she tenderly rubbed the special herbal ointment onto Nonno so his joints wouldn't act up. He had truly missed her touch, which always reminded him of his late wife: soft and caring. "You'll probably end up hurting my grandpa."

Still, Natsume insisted on helping Nonno bathe, hunting for animals to eat, and keeping him company as long as Mikan was somewhere else. And, of course, Nonno took the opportunity to try to squeeze information about Natsume's current feelings for his granddaughter.

What an idyllic life.

Nonno closed his eyes to bask in the sun.

Then one of Natsume's large wings knocked right into him.

Picking himself up, he stood up in annoyance, ready to scold the dragon before realizing Natsume was jerking about erratically and that he was hurt.

"Natsume!" he called, approaching the wild enormous beast. "Calm down! Let me take a look!"

He managed to catch Natsume's eye, and seeing the old man standing there, Natsume stopped thrashing, but Nonno could tell by his labored breathing that he was struggling hard to remain calm.

"Can you turn back into a human?" suggested Nonno uneasily.

"No," Natsume managed to spit out, "the wound doesn't magically get smaller when I change. I'll bleed out." Natsume whined loudly and tried to paw it out, but he only ended up snapping it in half, the tip still embedded. He tried to twist his head to look at his wound, but suddenly his eyes grew wild and he snapped his head back and forth, trying to remain awake.

"Shit," he said, before promptly rolling onto his side and losing consciousness.

"Mikan!"

* * *

"You're a stupid dragon, a reckless dragon," muttered Mikan as she tended to Natsume's wound. The spear hadn't cut too deep into his muscle; it had pierced the skin and had become lodged, but it was easily yanked out (to which Natsume responded with an unconscious groan) with her deft human hands.

"You have to learn to take better take care of yourself. No more dangerous flying." She rinsed the towel in the bowl, the water already a frothy red from Natsume's blood. Tenderly dabbing at the scales around the injury, Mikan sighed. He couldn't hear her scolding, and even if he were awake, he'd probably just snap at her and refuse to listen.

Guilt pricked at her heart. She had refused to listen to Natsume's requests to leave him alone, and he had gone off dangerously, just to get away for a little bit. This was her fault. She should have been more considerate. She and her grandfather shouldn't have invaded his home like they had. They should have kept their promise and left way earlier.

Instead, they had wound up causing Natsume pain.

Mikan had no shame in letting her feelings be known, unlike a grouchy dragon she knew, so she started to cry, her tears rolling down her cheeks and falling onto the unconscious dragon.

She cried because she thought she was being a friend by hounding Natsume so much. She cried because she had been a jerk to the poor dragon. She cried because she hadn't respected his wishes and brought him so much negativity.

She cried because he was hurt.

"I'm sorry, Natsume," she whispered, her lower lip trembling just a little.

Then she wiped away her tears and continued to fix up Natsume, who thankfully hadn't heard her crying. She didn't know how he would react. One time she had inadvertently told him something very personal, and she could have sworn she had seen a flicker of compassion and softness in his eyes before she had changed the topic and he had called her stupid. How fickle Natsume could be.

Lost in thought, Mikan's hand strayed a little over to the right…

A low rumbly sound came from Natsume's throat. His tail started to wag like a puppy's.

"You like that, huh?" Mikan said softly, still tickling him in that one spot on his neck with the rag in her hand. Natsume hummed contently, his tail beating rhythmically against the ground. "Yeah, you do. Aww, aren't you precious? Yeah, you are. You're just a wittle, baby dragon who wants someone to love him, aren't you? _Aren't you_? Who's a good boy, _who's_ a - "

Suddenly a breath of steam and hot air pushed Mikan away, sending her tumbling a few feet away, but unhurt and unscratched.

"I'm not a baby," grumbled Natsume, his eyes suddenly open and sharply focused, "or a pet. So stop talking to me like that." With that, he rolled over and trotted away, snout high in the air, with some pride still intact.

Mikan blew her hair out of her face, but she didn't feel disgruntled with his behavior. Instead she smiled at Natsume's retreating body. He was back to his usual self.

Also, his tail still wagged a little bit, and it was the most adorable thing Mikan had ever seen.

* * *

Obviously since Natsume was incapacitated for a couple of days to heal, _obviously_ Nonno and Mikan had to stay to take care of him, and surprisingly, Natsume didn't grumble too much, which made Mikan feel a bit better about staying for so long.

If Natsume had to be truthful, and only a very, very drunk, or otherwise uninhibited, Natsume would ever admit to this to anyone else besides himself, his new attitude was because he had heard her crying over him ( _Him_! The grouchy dragon who had snubbed her every offer of friendship!), and he never wanted to hear such a pitiful sound ever again. Not while he still lived and breathed.

So he let them stay, and he was acting much happier about their living situation. He even begrudgingly let Mikan pet that one spot on his neck that she had found.

It was embarrassing to be so vulnerable to her, but it felt _so, so, so_ good, and he could spend hours just lying there with her, completely overwhelmed with joy, tongue lolling out and eyes rolled back. Of course, he still made some effort to hide how much he enjoyed it, but it was fine, as long she didn't use that condescending baby voice with him.

"Natsume!" called Nonno one night after dinner. "Will you play a game of xiangqi with me? I'd ask Mikan, but she always makes her moves so slowly."

"Hey!" Mikan protested, looking up from the letter she was painstakingly writing to her best friend. "I like to take my sweet time thinking through my moves." She glanced at Natsume. "Besides, he's a _dragon_. How is he supposed to play?"

Natsume puffed some smoke into Mikan's hair. "I play better than you."

He actually did, and Mikan knew it.

Nonno had already set the board up in a quiet corner of the cave away from Mikan and had taken the red pieces for himself. He moved one of his soldiers forward as soon as Natsume sat down across from him.

"So how are you and Mikan getting along?" was Nonno's first question. Natsume, of course, had been expecting him to pry so he was ready with his usual smartass demeanor. He tried his best not to reflexively look at the girl at the mention of her name.

"Terribly. I want to gouge my heart out every time I even hear her breathe."

"Your heart, huh?"

He gave Mikan's grandfather a stern look before he made his first move.

"I know what game you're trying to play," hissed Natsume in annoyance. "Telling me all these great things about your granddaughter, asking me about my love life, trying to find out if I'm attached or not, having Mikan spend time with me every day."

Nonno didn't look up from the board. "Sounds like a game I'm winning."

Natsume met Nonno's playful jib with silence, which usually marked a victory in bantering, but Nonno felt uneasy about his silence. It was a heavy silence. They continued to play, almost evenly matched in skill.

"Is that why you remain a dragon whenever she's around?" he asked lightly.

The dragon's head bobbed up and down in a nod. "She would instantly fall in love with me," Natsume informed him very matter-of-factly, "and I don't need another fangirl hanging around. Besides, if she never knows I can be human, then you're just a senile old man trying to convince his granddaughter to be with an _animal_.

"On that note, I have a few issues with your so-called 'wonderful, loving, caring' granddaughter. For a supposed saint, she sure discriminates against animals whom she deems inferior and incapable of higher-order thinking, even though I'm sure she's dumber than 90% of the forest out there. Honestly, though…" Nonno simply nodded and moved his pieces as he tuned out Natsume's lengthy diatribe.

Sometimes, even though he loved the dragon dearly, _sometimes_ Natsume nearly bored the old man to death. It was truly astounding how Natsume refused to talk about normal subjects like life or politics yet on completely inane and asinine subjects such as the cognitive capacity of animals, he spoke passionately. He ended his rant with a succinct, "Animals are much smarter than she thinks, and she really needs to treat them better."

There was another silence, much more breathable this time, since Nonno didn't really have a response to Natsume's long-winded speech.

"So you two planning to leave any time soon?" Natsume asked in a casual tone, eyes on the game he was sure he was slowly winning.

"You don't really want us to go." Nonno was confident.

"Of course I do. I can't wait to finally be alone."

"You know," said Nonno thoughtfully as he saw the end in the near future, "just because you prefer to be alone doesn't mean you have to be lonely." He paused before he made the most direct hint. "Mikan's a good girl to have around. Especially when you're old, I can vouch for that."

"I'm not going to be alone when you two leave," said Natsume quietly, moving his piece to put Nonno in checkmate. "I'm already engaged."


	4. Captured

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.**

 _Shameless_ _ **fluff**_ _set in times of dragons and peasants._

 _Unedited as always._

* * *

Nonno Sakura faced the biggest ethical conundrum in his entire life. He had bid the two young ones goodnight and retired to his makeshift bed to fret over this newly discovered information.

His first reaction was to assume Natsume was lying; it was just another tactic to push them away.

"But I'm not lying," Natsume had said clearly. "Her name is Nobara Ibaragi. She's currently waiting for me with my parents at home. We're to wed sometime before the year ends, depending on when I go back home."

Nonno had spewed inquiry after inquiry accusingly. "So what's stopping you from going back? Do you love her? Is she even real? You've never brought her up before. You probably made her up in your head just now."

"The reason I didn't bring her up before," he had hissed, standing up on all four paws, the game decisively over, "is because I don't like to talk about my private affairs with nosy old men."

And that was it.

* * *

After a restless night, he needed to clear his head with fresh air, though it was very early, before the sunrise.

As he stepped outside, the brisk cold morning both chilling and refreshing, he was momentarily surprised to see his precious granddaughter outside at such an hour, sitting dangerously on the lip of a cliff, feet dangling.

When he walked over, Nonno was about to extend a greeting or express his surprise but then saw the red splotches on her face and the watery eyes; she had been crying.

He slowly sat down beside her, his joints still not as functional as they used to be.

They were silent, Mikan staring down into the forest below and her grandfather searching the sky, gradually lightening as it told of the sun's imminent arrival.

Finally, "I think we should go back home," she said quietly.

The sun began to peek over the horizon in the distance.

Nonno nodded.

* * *

For the first time in weeks, Natsume did not wake up the sounds of the Sakuras. On the typical day, he would slowly become aware of the sound of voices and then gradually pick up on bits of conversation. In the beginning, he had begun to dread the days where he realized they were still around, but honestly…

He didn't continue that thought.

It was about time he had set the old man straight; Natsume had let Nonno have his delusion for too long. At first, Natsume had seen the issue as merely a teasing topic, something Nonno could use to banter with him, but as the dragon spent more and more time with the Sakuras, Natsume finally had confront the fact that Mikan and him together was a legitimately serious concern.

Natsume also had to confront the fact that he would have to leave soon. He had kept his parents and Nobara waiting for almost a year now. It wasn't fair to anyone: not to his parents. not to his fiancée, and not even to himself.

As soon as his mother had announced that she had arranged a marriage for Natsume, who admittedly was getting old for a dragon without a mate, he should have accepted the proposal and married the girl. Instead he threw the biggest tantrum a grown creature could have and ran away, opting to hide in seclusion and try to ignore the whole situation.

It wasn't fair to keep them waiting, to leave them wondering. It was especially not fair for Nobara, whom he had met once. She wasn't too incompatible with Natsume, being so soft-spoken and taciturn, but something about her just _irritated_ him; her lack of willpower, her lackluster mannerisms, her low energy. It just didn't seem like she was… _alive_.

She wasn't bright and full of life and exciting, and Natsume didn't want to be with someone like that because _he_ was like that, and he knew that what he really needed was someone like -

Okay, he hadn't heard anything but the sound of things moving around for the last seven or so minutes. For the Sakuras, being quiet meant something was serious. He hadn't heard either of their loud voices that morning, his sharp ears only picking up the slightest whispers.

Something was wrong, and Natsume needed to investigate.

And indeed, something was wrong, but Natsume would not say it out loud. What was wrong was most of the Sakuras' belongings had been rounded up and packed away; what was wrong was Mikan wasn't cooking breakfast and Nonno wasn't patiently but happily waiting for food while chatting with his precious granddaughter. What was wrong was Mikan and Nonno were leaving.

The two Sakuras couldn't just ignore the dragon who had entered the space. Mikan looked up from her work tying together her pack and looked at her grandfather for guidance.

"Natsume," Nonno greeted warmly but not enthusiastically. "Good morning."

"You're going," the dragon said bluntly. Mikan had never seen the dragon stand so still. Always, there would be a sign that he was thinking or that he was still awake like a flick of his tail or a straightening of his wings every so often.

Mikan could see that the dragon was sad. Sad to see them go.

She gently slung on the bags she would carry, trying not to make any sudden movements. Nevertheless, the dragon swung his head to look at her, his piercing red eyes demanding an answer.

She swallowed first, her mouth suddenly full of saliva and her tongue unable to move. "We decided it was best. We've taken a lot of your time, and you've been very hospitable to us, but we cannot intrude on your space any longer." She paused and added as an almost apologetic afterthought, "We were going to wait until you woke up, but you're awake now…."

Nonno went to his precious granddaughter and picked up two of his own bags. In an effort to alleviate the unexpectedly serious atmosphere and to keep it light, "Don't worry, Natsume. We won't be gone completely. I brought too many things so I'll have to leave a few things behind. You can always cuddle with those if you miss me."

Natsume's tail flicked up and a low rumble started in his throat, a sound of disbelief and condescension. He watched silently as the Sakuras readied themselves.

Now fully prepared to leave, Mikan decided to make the clear cut. "Thank you for having us, Natsume," she said, putting as much gratefulness and sincerity as she could in her voice. Both the grandfather and granddaughter bowed respectfully to their host, careful to not spill their bags.

Mikan stepped up to the dragon, who lowered his head so they were eye-to-eye. Uninhibited, she reached out and stroked his snout. He responded by nudging his snout further into her hand. In a moment of completely liberated emotion, she leaned forward and gave him a kiss, right on the tip of his nose.

"Take care of yourself, okay?" she said softly, retracting her hand. The dragon puffed a little breath of smoke in agreement.

And thus, the Sakuras departed.

* * *

Days passed, and not a word about Natsume was spoken between the grandfather and the granddaughter. Mikan continued to rub herbal ointment on her grandfather's joints. Nonno continued to fill his time with playing games, talking with his elderly friends, and going on walks, but never to the mountain.

Mikan and her beloved grandfather never talked about how much Natsume had grown on them, how significant he had become in their lives, and how much they missed their friend. Each one hesitated to bring him up. It wasn't as though they had left him forever, right? They could always visit, right?

Yet the idea of visiting the dragon was slowly leaving their minds...

Then Natsume popped back up in the three most unexpected ways.

The first arrived outside of Mikan's window. She actually didn't see it when she first woke up, but instead had cooked breakfast, cleaned her room, and prepared to do outdoor chores before she realized there was a goat tied to a post outside her bedroom window!

The goat was calmly munching on the grass around it, and when it saw Mikan approach, it was a little cautious and hesitant to accept her. However, after some angry bleating and a little headbutting and physical subduing, Mikan managed to convince it to follow her.

Before she even registered the deep claw marks around the yard and the slightly burned rope, Mikan somehow knew the goat was from Natsume. It was just something Natsume would do: leave a gift and not say anything or indicate it was from him.

Her grandfather agreed with her, and they happily adopted the ironically named Mr. Bear into their little family, a little reminder of Natsume.

* * *

Mikan looked up from her dinner, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "How can a _dragon_ tie a knot?"

Nonno merely sipped his tea.

* * *

The second came more unhappily; it came in the form of Lady Sumire.

She arrived quite strangely at the village, carried on the back of her butler, a less uptight man who went by the name of Koko.

For the village, Mikan was definitely one of the loudest residents, and for Mikan, Natsume was definitely one of the biggest complainers she had ever met.

Yet somehow, Lady Sumire eclipsed both of them in their respective categories. She was the loudest complainer anyone in the vicinity of the village had ever encountered.

Within minutes of entering the village, nearly everyone had heard the troubles and misfortunes of Lady Sumire firsthand. Intrigued children clustered around the dramatic and sophisticated lady while sympathetic adults were already using their networks to find a place where the poor lass could stay in the meanwhile.

"It was terrifying!" Lady Sumire wailed, face red with emotion and arms flinging about. The crowd of children sat eagerly by her feet, excited by the notion of commotion. Her butler, Koko, kneeled beside her, one leg lunged forward as Lady Sumire used him as a leg-rest. "Five bandits all at once! I feared for my life, but that wasn't the most frightful part. No! They had ambushed my carriage, tied me up, and was about to carry away all the gold I had brought with me when a dragon appeared!" A murmur began in the crowd at Lady Sumire's implied conjecture on the existence of dragons. "It was the color of blood and gold, large and scaly and hideous. It stunk with the stench of brimstone and _death_. It snapped its jaws and breathed fire, and I thought surely it would be the end for me."

She took a deep breath, the first break in her tirade since she had begun bemoaning her troubles.

"My lady," interrupted Narumi as politely as he could. He lowered his chin in an improvised bow for deference since she was of a higher status. "Are you certain you saw a… _dragon_?"

"Of course!" she snapped. "It was quite hard to miss when this, this _odious_ beast was as close to me as you are now!"

To the side, Narumi heard a disbeliever scoff, "She's one of them lunatics, seeing dragons and fairies, dancing with the witches. We can't let her stay. What will she be telling our children?"

The little wave of dissent and incredulity reached her ears as Lady Sumire swung toward her butler, who had been massaging her feet through her stockings. "Koko! Tell them! You saw the dragon, too!"

He turned to the crowd of villagers, his face trustworthy and youthful and just like theirs. "It is true what she says. We were on our way to the city when bandits -"

" _Five_ bandits!" interjected Lady Sumire forcefully.

" - five of them ambushed us. It was a classic robbery. They tied us up, flashed their swords, and started looting our carriage for gold and jewels," Koko continued calmly, almost methodically. His tone was winning favor with some of the more level-headed villagers. "They were prepared to leave us with our ransacked carriage and with our lives when, truly, a giant red dragon came down to save us."

Immediately, the still skeptical villagers protested, "There be no such animal as a dragon! It's a creature of myth and legend."

But other villagers had their own reasons to believe. "We honored dragons long ago because they protected us and kept our homes safe. The dragons must have returned to help."

"Help who?" cried the other side. "She is not one of us, and we have not seen a dragon in our lifetimes. They do not roam here any longer."

"Regardless," cut in old lady Serina fiercely, who had grandchildren of her own and who admittedly felt a certain kinship toward the young Koko, who looked remarkably similar to one of her youngest grandchildren. "These young folks need _our_ help now. Who will give them shelter?"

It just so happened that one of the smallest families who had room to spare in their house was the Sakura household...

* * *

...and it also just so happened that the Sakuras firmly believed in the existence of dragons.

"And then what did he say to you?" Mikan asked Lady Sumiré in a hushed voice, handing her another cup of tea, causing Lady Sumire to smile at least a little bit since her ordeal.

After two cups of tea and having a real place to sit down, Lady Sumire was much calmer. The Sakura household wasn't nearly as grand as the abodes she was used to, but it would have to do, with its coziness and cleanliness. Lady Sumire's mood also improved due to Mikan's attentive listening that didn't doubt the veracity of the socialite's experience; for the first time, Lady Sumire finally felt like someone was _listening_ instead of evaluating or judging.

When Lady Sumire detailed her fright and anxiety about being ambushed by five bandits, Mikan had gasped and shook her head at the bandits' crude attitudes and dangerous appearances with long hair and serpent tattoos on their forearms. The young aristocrat shivered as she recalled how the leader of the gang (" _Reo_ , I believe the others called him.") had leered and sneered at her.

When Lady Sumire described the horror of watching all her riches being taken right in front of her eyes, Mikan had reached out a sympathetic hand to hold, which she accepted tightly. Chest after chest of gold and jewels and finery looted and laid out. Filled with such indignation, Lady Sumire had wanted to fight, to protest, but two of them stood close to her and Koko, their sharp swords dangling over them.

When Lady Sumire insisted that a large red dragon came from the sky, Mikan had nodded along quietly, not questioning her story. The dragon had scared off the bandits, and much to her astonishment, it spoke to her!

"It was anything I had expected," said Lady Sumire genuinely, sounding as though she and Mikan were old friends catching up. " If I could say, if he were a person, it was almost as though he were… _scolding_ us. He was very grumpy, muttering about having to save us and about how much gold I had."

Lady Sumire was so wrapped in her own experience that she didn't think too much of Mikan's internal delight, the adoring look dancing in her eyes, the little side smile. Obviously, these were all signs that this young hostess was so enraptured in Lady Sumire's story and absolutely nothing else, of course.

"At first, he wanted some of my gold, I suppose as some kind of reward, which I was more than happy to give. I thought I was delirious at this point; a talking dragon saving us! But then, even more strangely, he went on this long-winded speech about the… something about human nature and greed. I'm not quite sure anymore, but he demanded that we share our wealth, give something back to people in need, help others like he helped us. It was very... " Lady Sumire looked down at her empty cup of tea, at the warm hand she was holding, at the house she had been welcomed into, and she smiled at the brunette. "It was very transformative."

Mikan nodded as though she understood exactly what Lady Sumire meant, which in a way, she supposed she did. In her own experience, dragons could be arrogant and pushy, but they did have a sense of goodness, of integrity, of making the world better where they could.

And suddenly, through her reflection, Mikan had the somewhat trivial revelation that Natsume the dragon had allowed her grandfather to stay with him for so long because he cared about the old man, and he couldn't bear to see an elder alone, wandering around mountains, most likely seeking companionship; he had offered his home to her grandfather, someone he didn't even know.

Mikan had known Natsume had moments of kindness, but she was pleased to realize he truly did have a good heart.

* * *

"Is there anything else to eat?" complained Lady Sumire on the first evening. A messenger had been sent to her brother in the nearby city, and all had predicted she and Koko would only need to stay for about three days total.

"Sumire!" berated Koko fiercely and informally. "The food is good, and you know it. We're lucky to have food right now."

Lady Sumire glumly picked at her food. It wasn't that Mikan's cooking was terrible (It was actually superbly delicious...for a peasant), but Lady Sumire couldn't help that she had been raised with several courses of delectable and savory food, rounds of abundant delicacies. The dragon may have wanted to impart the lesson of being kind to others, but hey, people don't change in a day, and Lady Sumire was still just a little bit of a snob.

"Thank you for the food, Mikan," said Lady Sumire politely. "I'm still just a bit upset right now, and I let my emotions get the better of me. I apologize." To prove her point, Lady Sumire tried another bite of fish and didn't say anything about it.

"It's all right," laughed Mikan carelessly. "I once met someone who also liked to complain about my cooking just because he was grouchy and wanted to."

Nonno snickered a bit, concealing his laughter in his food, and Mikan's eyes darted to his to revel in the inside joke, one of the first most clear times they had recognized Natsume's existence in a while.

* * *

Mr. Bear stood in the yard and bleated, continuing to eat his own dinner. He liked this hay.

* * *

True to her word, Lady Sumire and Koko departed after three days of staying with the Sakuras. During that time, Koko had adjusted quite well to the village life and could have been found helping some of the sonless families work their fields or the elderly tend to their gardens. Lady Sumire was not as generous, but as she went on her way to her brother, heeding the dragon's speech about doing good unto others, she left behind quite a bounty: one chest of gold to be split amongst the villagers for their kindness, a chest of children's clothings so the young ones could feel as regal as they saw Lady Sumire, and a carefully maintained, well-preserved box of court delicacies for all to try and for Mikan to learn how to make.

* * *

The third time the Sakuras caught wind of Natsume's life was, unfortunately, not as happy as they would have wished.

"Grandpa, it's time to rub your special herbal ointment on your joints so they don't act up!" called Mikan from the back patio, where the warm night breeze was pleasantly enjoyable.

As Nonno made his way over, he suddenly remembered: "We ran out of the ointment! We almost didn't have enough last time, remember?"

Mikan remembered and nearly groaned as she stood up and gathered her cloak. "Right, right. Do you think Misaki is still at the apothecary at this hour?"

Nonno nodded, but then frowned. "It is dark already. Perhaps we should wait until morning."

Mikan had already put on her cloak and gathered her purse. "We have to put it on every three days, and the doctor said we mustn't miss any days." She gave her grandfather a kiss on the cheek. "It's just down the lane; I'll be fine."

"Okay," he conceded slowly, "but be safe."

"Always, grandpa," said Mikan with a smile, and then she was off.

As her grandfather predicted, the apothecary was still open for purchasing, and Misaki was not the least bit angry to quickly prepare another batch of the ointment for her grandfather; he had prepared Nonno's ointment many times before, and the Sakuras had always been good customers. And it was especially in Mikan's favor that she had pushed her friend Nonoko to ask for an apprenticeship with Misaki, who was delighted to have such an intelligent and sharp student.

It would, however, take a little while, but Mikan was more than happy to browse through the other potions and ointments and perfumes while Misaki concocted the ointment.

It was not a small shop by any means, but Misaki was gifted and had quite an array and quite a variety of medicines and herbs and ingredients available, which was especially surprising for such a small village. But then again, the village did have quite the number of elderly who no doubt required Misaki's services.

 _But_ , Mikan thought as she came across the more _specialized_ recipes, _who would ever need to grow extra long, extra strong beans? And who would ever need to make bean stalks into whips?_

The door opened.

"One moment," called Misaki from the workplace in the back of the shop before he indeed only took one moment to come to the front. "How can I help you tonight?"

 _Ugh, treatment for toe fungus,_ grimaced Mikan as she shifted the bottles to look at the labels. _Treatment for uncontrollably loose bowels?_

"I wish to purchase all the ingredients on this list," said the new customer in a low voice as he laid down a piece of parchment onto the counter. It was a tall man, who looked as though he had led a weathered life with scars up and down his arms and a noticeable tattoo on his forearm. He looked around the store suspiciously, but didn't seem to find anything too out of the ordinary, just a flustered young girl in the section for love potions and aphrodisiacs.

There was a long pause as Misaki scanned the list, a pause so long, it made Mikan look up from the scandalous items in front of her and wonder what was going on. She quickly took in the appearance of the young man, and she admittedly was a little on edge. There was just something about his aura or the way he carried himself. He looked unhappy.

"Is there a problem?" asked the man gruffly, tapping his fingers on the wooden counters.

Misaki looked up from the list to the young man, then back down and then back up. The glint of his eyes made Mikan pause and unconsciously step closer. He put the list down.

"How curious," said Misaki in an odd tone that Mikan hadn't heard before, except maybe when he was excited over discovering a new combination and had to suppress his enthusiasm. "We recently had a young lady report that she had seen a dragon in the area not too long ago."

The mention of a dragon caught the attention of the man and of Mikan. The man turned to face Misaki head-on, both hands on the counter in a display of power. "Is that so?"

Misaki nodded. "It is very curious, indeed, that she would see this dragon and here, by complete serendipity, of course, is a recipe for a sleeping tonic designed for dragons."

Mikan couldn't see the man's face, but he must have made a face. "And how would you know about that recipe?"

"I'm good at what I do," replied Misaki simply. "A sleeping tonic with enough potency for a beast as large as a dragon and intended to subdue a dragon long enough to let its blood."

The man hummed lightly as though he were merely entertaining the opinion of a madman. He must have carefully kept his facial expression noncommittal. Mikan, on the other hand, let her emotions show as she slowly put together where the conversation was going and what it implied.

"You know," started Misaki slowly in a measured, even voice, "dragon's blood is very versatile in medicinal compounds. It carries healing and regeneratives attributes. Even just one small vial would be astoundly useful for my apothecary…" He gave the man a pointed look, which was returned with a wolfish grin.

"Hmmm, I know where you might obtain such a vial, a vial such as this one?" With those words, the man extracted a small corked vial of a thick, red liquid. Upon seeing it, Misaki nearly snatched the vial out of the man's hand but remembered his manners and so extended his palm and asked calmly, "May I?"

The man willingly handed over the bottle as Misaki put on his glasses and held it up to the light, examining it carefully. Misaki's face was unreadable, but the man must have seen a hint of satisfaction.

"Your price?"

Misaki lowered the tube and handed it back over. "Generous. However, of course, I must be able to confirm that it is indeed dragon's blood before I hand over such a sum of money. Otherwise, you could bottle any old thing and say it is so. I'd be willing to pay if you brought evidence it came from a true dragon, say the dragon's head?"

Mikan nearly shrieked. Could it be Natsume they were talking about? What other dragon was there? If so, his life was in danger! What could she do?

"That can be accomplished," agreed the man as he suddenly relaxed his tense posture, seeming more at ease now that he had managed to snag a sale. "We've been collecting blood from the dragon for a while now, and we've stockpiled quite a lot. He's getting weak and it's about time we cash in on its carcass."

Mikan's hands clenched into fists as she unconsciously took a step forward in anger, ready to pummel the man for hurting such a beautiful creature. Unfortunately, her movement caught Misaki's eye, who looked completely unashamed to have agreed to the death of a dragon.

"Oh, yes, Mikan, I nearly forgot. The ointment is nearly ready. I'll go get it." With that, the apothecary went to the back, leaving Mikan alone with the man, who turned around when Misaki had spoken to her.

His face was old and rugged yet Mikan could tell he was still young. He had long black hair and a sneer that made Mikan feel uncomfortable. Although he kept his arm on the counter, Mikan could see little black markings, hinting of a tattoo, and she thought that… he looked quite like… a _bandit._

But Mikan wasn't focused on that aspect in the moment. He was scrutinizing her quite meticulously, and she knew he found her questionable. Without much thought, she decided she had to speak to throw off his suspicions.

She cleared her throat. "If I heard you correctly, you… have captured a dragon?"

Immediately, the man tensed up again, looking just as he did when he was bargaining with Misaki. "Perchance."

"Oh." Where was she going with this? "I… was hoping that if you did… I heard that the scales of a dragon are quite pretty to look at." Latching onto this facade, she quickly decided to lower her eyes so as to present the image of a bashful young lady. "I wish I could have just one," she said wistfully, "to have as a bauble to show off to my jealous friends. Then they would so amazed and in awe of such a rare item."

Now grinning, the man fell for Mikan's trap. "Is that so, young darling? It would be pretty costly."

Her face fell. "Oh, I don't have a lot of money, only…" She had to act pretty dumb for this one. She pulled out her purse and held out seven gold coins, only a small fraction of what Hotaru gifted her and more than enough, she was sure, for one dragon scale. After all, Natsume had, like, _thousands_ of them, but she didn't really want to focus on Natsume in the moment because if she did, the fury would bubble back up and she would lose the deception.

The man's eyes momentarily lit up at the sight of the gold coins, but he quickly remembered to restrain himself. "I suppose that would do," he said nonchalantly as he reached for her coins, but Mikan closed her hand.

"Payment will be given when I see the scale," she said firmly, no room for argument.

The light in the man's eyes temporarily flickered, but he continued to smile unctuously. "Of course," he said tightly. "I'm sure you'll love it, a golden-red dragon scale as beautiful as the last rays of sunset."

 _Natsume_.

"A dying sunset… How romantic," said Mikan quietly, still trying to maintain the innocent girl act.

"Here you go!" announced Misaki, coming from the back with a bottle of Nonno's ointment. "Enough to last you another two months."

Mikan turned to the unsuspecting Misaki and went up to take the bottle from him, coming close to the other man, and she knew he would still be watching her. She knew she couldn't tell Misaki about Natsume and her panic and the fact that he was going to buy _dragon's_ blood from a terrible man, a dragon killer.

"Thank you very much," said Mikan as she took the bottle from him, continuing eye contact with Misaki and only Misaki. He smiled at her, not seeing the carefully concealed anxiety. Then Misaki asked the man smoothly, "When will you have it by?"

The man had to think about his answer, and Mikan needed to hear it so she took small steps toward the door, trying her best to stall without seeming too conspicuous. She didn't know why she had to keep her "purchase" of a dragon scale a secret from Misaki, but she didn't think she would be able to lie to him and keep her emotions hidden from him, a fellow villager whom she had grown up with, even if he did want to see her friend dead for a profit.

"Two days is the soonest. We've been talking about killing him, but I will need to confirm with the rest of the group. I'll come back in two days at the latest with the head, the blood, and a couple of dragon scales, eh?" With that, he subtly winked at Mikan, who attempted to smile as though she were in on the conspiracy and ducked her head.

Thankfully, Misaki didn't question the wink and instead delved into a bargaining conversation while simultaneously creating the sleeping tonic for the man.

With that, Mikan exited the apothecary, for once disliking the warm air because it just made her feel so hot and sticky; she needed some refreshing coolness.

She took a deep breath and calmed herself.

Then she ran all the way home, running to her grandfather and hopefully running to Natsume's rescue.

* * *

 **Author's Note** **:** I don't often write author's notes, but I've come to realize I don't like the look of a chapter where there's no ending remark, and all the reader see is the review box right in their face. It just ends so abruptly.

Additionally, if you are reading this chapter now, thank you for not giving up hope on this story. I have come to realize that I do not particularly enjoy writing the in-between plot. I write happy endings and lovey-dovey scenes, but action scenes that advance the plot? No thank you. However, I regret to inform you (or actually, myself) that there is still action to come so the next update will be slow until we can hit the climax.

Stay fresh.


	5. Freed

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.**

 _Shameless fluff set in the times of dragons and peasants._

 _Unedited as always and very rushed._

* * *

Mikan was a sun, pulling others into her orbit with little resistance, drawing them in with promises of light and happiness and sunshine. It was no wonder, soon after returning from the apothecary, she had gathered as many allies her small village could muster.

Along with Nonno came their good family friends: Yuri, Narumi, Shiki, Tsubasa, Anna, and Nonoko.

Initially, Mikan's grandfather was reluctant to include the young twins on the mission, but Nonoko and Anna quickly proved their worth as Nonoko brought her own chemical concoctions, as an apprentice healer, and Anna was an incredible strategist. Also, Nonno knew how headstrong and stubborn his precious granddaughter could get so he very wisely stepped to the side and let her take the lead. She was his only granddaughter, but she was also a grown adult; she could handle it.

"I believe the same bandits who ambushed Lady Sumire are now holding our friend, Natsume, as hostage," was all Mikan needed to say before they were all up in arms and ready to protect this stranger. She quickly sketched a basic layout of Natsume's cave dwellings, a visual representation of her thought process.

"Most likely, they have him here in the largest chamber because there's so much space to maneuver," Mikan indicated the main cave where she, her grandfather, and Natsume had had most of their dinners and had relaxed during lazy afternoons, "and there's three main ways to get into the cave. Two ways come from the outside, and one comes from another tunnel deeper into the mountain. Now we can get in through this tunnel from the outside, but it's a lot of steep climbing that can make a lot of noise. We need to sneak up on them."

All of them studied Mikan's drawings diligently, absorbing everything she had told them. Even Narumi, who usually spoke his mind with no filter, was silent and contemplative.

"Where then do you suggest coming from?" asked Anna after a moment's pause. Everyone around the table looked up, looking to Mikan for knowledge, for leadership. Mikan considered her answer carefully; she could feel the expectations put on her and knew the others would value her input more heavily since she was so much more familiar with Natsume and the mountains.

"I think we should come in from over here," she said after deliberating, pointing to the one of the entrances leading to the hot springs. "There are some large boulders near the side that we can hide behind but still get a good view of what happens inside. We should take caution and assess the situation before rushing into anything."

Almost everyone nodded along, putting their trust in Mikan. Her steely determination showed in her thinking; she usually was the type to rush blindly to help someone, but the fact that she had spoken against doing so demonstrated a kind of strength they could put their faith in.

Mikan turned to her resident chemist. "Nonoko, what do you have that can help us?"

A bit taken aback to have the spotlight suddenly on her, Nonoko fumbled for her bag."It's not much since I mainly make healing potions," she explained as she took out little leather balls and bottles of powder, "but I've been experimenting around a bit and here's what I thought would be useful. I was thinking since Lady Sumire was ambushed and all that, it'd be prudent to be able to protect our homes a bit more… I don't know if any of this will help…"

"You made these by yourself?" asked Tsubasa with just a little bit of awe in his voice as he picked up a ball and rolled it around in his hand. Without even knowing how they functioned, he could tell by the careful stitching and clean surface that there was a lot of diligent attention in their creation.

Pleased by the apparent admiration, Nonoko shyly nodded before explaining how the little balls worked: upon a forceful, sudden impact, they would explode noisily like a firecracker and spill powder that quickly transformed into a oil-like, indelible sheen on any criminal or hooligan sneaking around.

"I think then we should leave before dawn so we still have some semblance of darkness to cover us," added Anna, "but we should try to be there before the sun fully rises. We need both the dark and the light to help us. If we should fail to apprehend one of them, we should at least aim at them with these little balls and warn the constable to be on the look-out for anyone covered in… whatever they produce."

"I'm a good aim," interjected Mikan," so I'll stay at the mouth of the cave and act as a net if any should escape. Nonoko, since you know how to work these, stay with me?" The girl in question nodded. "There should be about four or five of them so I think, if you all are okay with this, Tsubsa, Shiki, and Yuri should be in the front in case there is a fight."

Narumi eyed Yuri, most likely surprised. "Yuri?"

Mikan spoke on her behalf: "I've seen her tussle with the village boys. She seems to be able to predict their moves before they actually make it."

A bit speechless at the flattery, Yuri merely shrugged and accepted the compliment.

Mikan summarized their plan of action: "We leave before dawn, scope out the scene, and then subdue them as best we can without anyone getting hurt and take them to the constable. Our priority is making sure our friend, Natsume, is safe, whether that means we take him out of there or we lead the bandit away."

Heads around the table nodded in agreement.

Concluding the discussion, Narumi said, "Sounds like a solid plan. Is there anything else we should know before starting?

"Also, um," Mikan exchanged nervous glances with her grandfather, who quickly realized what his granddaughter was about to reveal, "Natsume is a dragon."

There was one moment of bated breath,

Then: "I _told_ you dragons still exist! You wouldn't believe me - or Lady Sumire!"

* * *

Tsubasa's haughty attitude over being right about the existence of dragons continued into the morning as they trekked up the mountain in the gray pre-dawn.

"I just _felt_ it, you know? Deep down within. Probably because he was so close to us this entire time. I could just feel him," he whispered to Narumi, stepping over logs and rocks.

Mikan, leading the path to Natsume's cave, turned away and shushed him. "We're getting closer."

Creeping silently, they moved as one: Mikan first, followed by Shiki, Yuri, Anna, Nonoko, Narumi, and then Tsubasa.

Mikan's heart had thumped all along the way, anticipation tingling all over her body. So often had she climbed the exact same path with excitement and carelessness that she had trouble reconciling it with each step of dread of what might lay before her.

Crouching behind the large boulders she had informed the rest of her team about, she took a deep breath as she took the first peek around.

It wasn't terrifying as she thought it to be. In her mind, she had conjured images of a nearly dead Natsume, blood streaked all over the stone walls, as nefarious bandits cackled over his limp, helpless body.

They had muzzled him and tied down each of his limbs, but Mikan couldn't see any blood and it appeared as though Natsume was slumbering, just as he always did. Gazing upon his familiar scaly body, Mikan felt a warmth spread in the pit of her stomach, and she almost smiled, until she saw an additional four slumbering human bodies huddled together in a nearby crevice.

She stepped back and faced everyone else to relay what she had seen. Each one carefully took a look for themselves as well. Tsubasa had sucked in a triumphant-sounding breath as he turned to the rest of them with glee in his eyes that clearly conveyed his still-present satisfaction of being right.

"This may be easier than we thought; there need not be a fight," whispered Tsubasa furtively, enthusiasm in his voice. Nearly everyone seemed excited by their fortune, except for Yuri, whose brows were furrowed in concentration. "Shiki, Narumi, and I will tread lightly and bind them before they feel anything."

"Are you certain you can?"

Tsubasa smiled almost mischievously as he turned to his old teacher. "Do you remember the days when I would sneak out of class, Narumi? I may be older, but I still can sleuth around, silent as a shadow."

"We'll all go together," insisted Mikan.

Narumi shook his head. "I understand this is your friend, but we do not need to risk everyone's lives. It's best you stay back. Who knows? Perhaps one of them will awake and try to escape. Then we'll need some of us here to surprise them."

Mikan considered his words for a few moments before conceding. "Still, there are four of them, but to be safe in case they do wake, Yuri and I will go with you." She turned toward her friends. "Nonoko and Anna, you'll keep on the lookout."

"Please be careful," pleaded Anna. As quietly as they could, everyone exchanged hands with what few weapons they had brought. Shiki, Mikan, and Yuri carried lengths of rope while Tsubasa and Narumi carried swords. They weren't the best quality, but they would prove useful in fights. Yuri herself had been prepared, sheathed with a small dagger. Nonoko passed them each a couple of her conocotions.

"Just in case. They can still cause a fright and momentarily stun then."

The five brave adventurers nodded before Tsubasa took the lead; they must hurry before their window of opportunity was missed. Dawn was approaching, the sky lightening with each passing minute.

"Something still feels wrong to me," whispered Yuri to Mikan as they began to tread carefully to the sleeping bandits, all four of them. Nonoko and Anna both crouched down behind the boulders, eyes riveted on each light and silent footstep their friends and neighbors took.

It wasn't until the five villagers had made it nearly halfway to the bandits that Mikan truly registered in her mind that there were only four bandits.

Hadn't Lady Sumired said… five bandits?

Out of worry, Mikan took a glance over her shoulder at the friends they had left behind, and she saw the top halves of Anna and Nonoko's fretting faces before she saw the scheming face of a man sneaking up behind them.

In a heartbeat, Mikan swirled around, connected eyes with the sneering red-haired bandit. and opened her mouth.

Everything happened quite rapidly from the moment Mikan shouted her warning. Mikan saw a flash of steel as the man rushed at her friends. Having seen Mikan's expression, Nonoko and Anna had turned just in time to see the man and dive away from his rampaging path. Anna recovered more quickly and lobbed one of Nonoko's concoctions, but unfortunately missed by a good length, instead landing at Nonoko's feet, blue powder spilling, startling her with a loud explosion that tore a shriek out of the chemist's throat.

Shouts came from behind Mikan as the commotion awoke the resting bandits and soon clangs of steel echoed around the cave. The red-haired bandit swiped at Anna, but she managed to barely skirt the reach of his sword. Running closer to help her friends, Mikan took a second to pause, gauge her distance, and then lobbed another ball at the bandit, nearly hitting the mark as it impacted against his shoulder, bright red powder settling onto his clothes. He whirled around, Anna momentarily forgotten as he once again glowered at Mikan.

Similar explosions sounded around the cave as the four other villagers managed to fend off the other four bandits.

Unfortunately, Anna, Nonoko, and Mikan were left without any true weapons as the best they could do was circle around the red-haired bandit, like vultures circling their prey, and evade any strikes of his blade.

Mikan looked at both Nonoko and Anna, silently transmitting a strategy that they picked up on quickly. As long as they kept moving, kept turning in a circle, they could keep him disoriented enough.

All of them clutched Nonoko's leather balls in their hands, waiting for the opportunity. They saw the red powder work its magic as, just as Nonoko said, it transformed into a sticky oil-like substance.

On the other side of the cave, Yuri and Tsubasa had managed to subdue one of the bandits by tripping him with a length of rope and pouncing on him before he could react, quickly binding his limbs to his side.

Mikan decided to risk it, and the next time, he turned to face her, she threw the ball, which landed slightly off its mark of his face, instead hitting his throat. He recoiled and wheezed for breath for barely a moment before his face contorted for fury and he made his decision of who his victim would be. With a growl of annoyance, he charged at Mikan head-on.

Mikan dodged by jumping to the side and rolling into a ball, but he maintained his pursuit, and she had to scramble back onto her feet. With another war cry, the red-haired bandit lunged once more at Mikan, the edge of his sword slicing into her side.

Mikan cried out in pain, falling to her knees, but almost immediately, her cry was met with a deafening roar of terror. Looking up, Mikan saw the underside of Natsume's giant head before he unleashed one of the most enormous breaths of fire she had seen him produce.

The red-haired bandit was incinerated where he stood.

Before either Mikan or Natsume could say anything more, a final clang of steel as a sword fell to the ground and a shout of victory came from Narumi as the last bandit fell to the ground, the tip of Narumi's blade at his throat.

Natsume huffed in satisfaction as he registered four of captors lying helpless on the ground. Then black spots entered his vision as he quite literally felt the blood drain from his head and collapsed on the ground.

* * *

"Careful, careful. Please be gentle."

"He needs water to replenish his blood. They took a lot."

"What should we do with all these vials? There must be dozens of them."

"Well, might as well sell them, you know?

"Ow! I was joking…."

"He sure is a big fellow. We'll need something bigger if we want to cover this wound."

* * *

The next time Natsume awoke fully, Nonno had updates. Drifting slowly into the land of living, he found himself curled up against the side of the cave. As he grew more and more conscious, he could feel the long slit on his underbelly where the bandits had cut him to draw his blood and he could feel a small irritation on his paw, like a fly landing on his skin. He was about to flick it off when his eye opened slightly and he vaguely recognized brown hair and heard the crackling of a fire.

Natsume weakly snorted in annoyance. Who did she think she was, able to actually _sit_ on his paw like he was her own personal throne?

He felt the warmth of a large fire, and his tail instinctively curled to be closer.

"It's a good sign that he's moving," came Nonno's voice.

"Yes, but what were you telling me just now, Grandpa?"

"We've taken the bandits to the constable, and they've been served justice. They will harm no one else, rest assured."

"Good," said Mikan with conviction. "They deserve to be jailed for the rest of their lives for their despicable actions…" Unknowingly, Mikan began a long-winded rant about how exactly she would like those low life criminals to face the consequences of their actions, about the utter disregard they had for the precious value of life, and on and on.

And with each passionate word, Natsume felt himself become more awake and perhaps more irritated. Could he have no relief from the piercing voice of Mikan Sakura?

"Or I could just set them on fire and burn them alive," growled Natsume lowly, raising his eyelids a bit to see Mikan's surprised face. "So then I wouldn't have to listen to you anymore."

"Natsume!" She ran up to his face and placed a hand on his snout. "How are you feeling?"

Natsume grunted and raised his head. It was only the three of them in the cave. It was night.

"What are the two of you doing in my cave?" asked Natsume almost bemusedly. "I thought you two had left."

"What are _we_ doing in your cave? We saved your life!" screeched Mikan as she launched into another tirade, which quickly turned into an emotional speech that caused Mikan to wrap her arms as best she could around his neck. "It tore my heart out to see you like that! I didn't see how much they had hurt you at first, but then you just collapsed and I thought you died!"

Her words nagged at his own heart, but he chose to ignore it. "But I did not so stop wiping your snot on me."

Mikan pulled her teary face away from his scales and wiped it on her sleeve. "Sorry, Natsume."

Natsume chose to pull away from her and decided to stretch, assessing internally how much damage was done to his body.

Unbeknownst to him, Nonno carefully watched his face and saw, even in his dragon form, all the winces and flinches of pain whenever Natsume moved a certain way. He was lucky Mikan was too busy clearing the tears of her face for if she had seen, she certainly would have started up again.

Although he tried to act brave and aloof, Nonno knew Natsume was in no condition to be alone.

With a fiancee waiting for him, Natsume might not be the ideal candidate for his Mikan, but he was still Nonno's friend.

"Mikan, I think you should stay to look after Natsume while he recovers," he said simply.

"No!" protested Natsume instantly. "I don't need to be taken care of like a pet. I'm perfectly capable of being independent. Besides, I was living well enough on my own before the two of you showed up and started acting like my business was your business."

"Lower your pride a little, Natsume. I understand we were a bit overwhelming the last time we stayed, but we care about you. You are our friend, Natsume, and you need just a little bit of help. There's nothing wrong with that," soothed Nonno softly.

"Natsume, Grandpa's right. You can't fly in this condition, and if you can't fly, how can you get food? Swallow your pride this time, Natsume, and just let us help you," insisted Mikan.

"I said - "

"Shhhhh," hushed Mikan firmly, her hand against Natsume's snout as though he were any human, helping to close his mouth, "I'm staying, and I'm helping you."

Natsume grumbled one last time before settling down with a glare. Nonno smiled.

* * *

In the following days, Natsume soon learned that it really wasn't a bother to have Mikan around. It definitely was not as suffocating as he thought it would be, especially since Nonno had elected to stay at home (his own body needed to rest, and even though he would have loved to be lounging in the hot springs, a recent bout of sickness meant he needed to be close to a healer, just in case).

Natsume didn't know who talked to her or if maybe she figured it out on her own (bless her for using her brains then), but she gave him space and freedom, something the Sakuras had forgotten the last time they stayed for an extended visit.

No longer did Mikan insist on helping him with every single task or constantly pestering him on what he was doing or where he was going.

Instead, they fell into a nice, natural rhythm of simply spending time together.

She would make the meals, and they would talk, perhaps about what their plans were, which for Natsume consisted of mainly going on small walks and healing, but soon conversations turned into amicable silence. Since Nonno was still coughing and needed bedrest, some days, she left in the morning to attend to her grandfather before returning at sunset, often with food, which included, to his delight, whole sheep.

After the fifteenth sheep, however, he was a little suspicious. Finally, after gobbling down two whole fat sheep for lunch (a bit unattractively, too, since he just tossed them in the air and dropped them right down his throat and loudly choked them down), he asked, "Where are you getting all these sheep from? Surely these all aren't yours."

Eating her meal a bit more delicately, Mikan lowered her utensils and said, "I bought them."

Natsume narrowed his eyes. "With what gold?" Perhaps he needed to check his treasure rooms…

Mikan looked at him with bemusement, knowing instantly where his mind went. "My best friend gave me the gold and told me to use it to take care of myself, but clearly, someone needs to take care of you. Besides, I know how touchy you are about your gold."

Natsume harrumphed a little and refused to acknowledge how touched he might have been (just a little) that she spent her own gold on him ( _him!_ ) and wondered if he would ever do the same.

Then Natsume grabbed another sheep carcass with his jaws and tore into it to ignore the fact that yes, maybe he would. For her.

* * *

Mikan also filled up her days with knitting and weaving. With winter approaching, with her still agile, youthful, and dexterous hands, thicker clothing and blankets would be needed in many households to keep warm.

Most of the time, she preferred to do in the sunshine, but sometimes, to keep a closer eye on Natsume, she would bring her latest project inside and sit wherever she could find a comfortable spot: underneath his forearm, in the crook of his neck, wrapped up in his tail.

And Natsume found that she sometimes hummed to fill the noiseless space. And sometimes, if his mind was particularly blank, he would find himself humming along with her.

With all the attention and all the food she was providing for him, his long wound healed within a couple of weeks. They had stitched it up as best as they could through his thick skin and placed wrappings as they would on a human.

Every other day, Mikan would examine it and fix it up as best she could with her limited knowledge.

"We should bring in a healer. My friend Nonoko is just an apprentice, but she probably could help," she mentioned one day while she cleaned his wound. At first, he resisted, insisting he could do it himself, but like always, she somehow managed to get her way and so he just lay down like an obedient puppy.

"A healer for humans," he snorted in derision. "What good would that do?"

An unwanted thought bubbled inside his mind that as his wound shrinked, it was becoming safer to turn into his human form. It would probably help even.

But still… He liked how peaceful it was, how comfortable it was between them. And an unconscious worry needled at him, as he felt her hands gently brush over his skin, would she show him the same amount of attention and affection if he were a human?

Judging from how she behaved about nudity and marriage and the other sex, he knew she would grow physically uncomfortable and pull away. He knew, deep down, that he didn't want that to happen.

Undeniably, Natsume found himself falling in love with her. Again.

The only difference was he didn't try to resist and instead let himself enjoy the moments they had: the moments when she didn't hesitate to caress him, the moments when he awoke to her smiling face, the moments when he would tease her and prod her with his tail.

He wouldn't mind if this was his life.

Forever.

* * *

With each day that passed, Natsume healed, and he knew soon he would have to come up with an excuse to have her stay, which is why he was very much relieved and very much grateful when Nonno came hobbling up the path one day.

"Grandpa!" Nonno's precious granddaughter rushed to his side. "Why are you out and about? You should be resting! In bed! Who let you out?"

"Nonsense!" said Nonno with strength in his voice as he shooed away Mikan's probing hands and hugged her. "I've been feeling much better, and I've decided to visit my favorite friend!"

Natsume could quite clearly see the towel and spare change of clothes wrapped in Nonno's pack. "You're here to use the hot springs."

Quickly changing his tune, Nonno sent a conspiratorial wink to Natsume as he turned back the way he came. "Looks like you two are doing just fine. Keep on taking care of Natsume, do you hear me, Mikan? Now these old bones need a good soak and some hot water to fend off the coldness. I'll be back in a bit!"

"Grandpa! Do you need help?" called out Mikan after her grandpa's retreating figure. She was about to follow after him, when Natsume's tail stopped her mid-step, knocking the breath out of her.

"Let him enjoy the simple pleasures in life," advised Natsume, turning back to his breakfast. "And let us enjoy this delicious cow."

Mikan examined Natsume with a critical eye, but, finding no ulterior motive, joined him for breakfast.

* * *

"Please, Natsume, I'm begging you again: eat with your mouth _closed_."

A series of muffled sounds was followed by Natsume choking.

"And _chew_ your food!"

Mikan, resigned to Natsume's poor mannerisms, merely sighed as he spit out a mangled mess of a carcass, only to attempt to re-eat it whole again.

* * *

Mikan was comfortably curled up in the increasingly pile of cushions, reading a book, using Natsume's natural body heat to keep warm, when Natsume, who had been indiscreetly reading over her shoulder, raised his head, ears alert and tail paused in mid-swing.

"Is it Grandpa?" she asked, becoming as alert as he was, standing up and placing a hand on his long neck.

Natsume snorted. "It doesn't feel like Nonno. It's someone more.. _Jangly_." He paused, then looked at Mikan amusedly. "Probably has some gold on him."

She jokingly scowled at him. "Gold, gold, gold, all you ever think about."

Before Natsume could make a retort or perhaps admit his true feelings by confessing that _she_ was all ever thought about, a commanding voice split the air, "Who's there?" and a figure, dressed in chainmail, entered the cave, wielding a sword.

Seeing the silver glint, both Mikan and Natsume moved to defend, Natsume's wing snapping open in front of Mikan, and she stepping closer.

Then Natsume recognized the figure and laughed a bit, slackening his wing, Mikan peering curiously at the stranger.

"Oh, it's just you, Natsume." The young man sheathed his sword. "A few months ago, some of my subjects were complaining about a dragon stealing some of their livestock so I came out here to investigate."

Natsume, more relaxed now that he knew who it was, barked a laugh. "Did you really expect to find another dragon beside me around here?"

The stranger seemed to realize his lapse in thinking and laughed at himself. "Of course," he said as he shook his head. "What was I thinking?"

Mikan, who still had her hands on Natsume, felt his sides rumble in mirth. She felt the tension melt away as the atmosphere grew more easy. She stepped closer, wanting to know more, wanting to be included on their inside conversation.

Noticing her presence, the blond bowed and greeted her with a dazzling smile, "Hello there, fair maiden. Please forgive me for intruding so carelessly and recklessly. I am Prince Ruka but you can refer to me as Ruka, and I was sent here by my people to slay a nuisance, but I'm afraid all I've found is Natsume."

"Who is still a nuisance by himself," quipped Mikan, feeling her guard slip. "My name is Mikan Sakura, I'm a friend of Natsume's. Are you a friend as well?" Her head tilted curiously to the side. She didn't know Natsume _could_ have or even _wanted_ friends, but the casual interaction she had just witnessed told her differently.

Ruka glanced up at Natsume's content face with a smile. "Yes, I've known Natsume for quite some time, which is why it was so incredibly idiotic of me to forget that he likes to reside in these areas."

Natsume didn't bother to grace his friend with an answer, opting instead of lay his head back down and purr slightly. These were the telltale signs that Mikan knew meant that Natsume was extremely comfortable, that Prince Ruka was indeed a close friend of his. For Natsume, silence was intimate.

Mikan glanced at Natsume's amused eyes and at Prince Ruka's now relaxed posture.

"But we haven't seen each other in months so why don't you tell me what you've been up to, Natsume?" With that request, Prince Ruka moved to remove his sheath and his chainmail, revealing a more comfortable tunic beneath.

"The same thing I've been up to. Eating sheep and cows. Terrorizing your people. Except for this one here," Natsume said, nudging Mikan, "this one here isn't even smart enough to be afraid."

"Hey!" protested Mikan, giving him a playful slap.

Observing their interaction, Prince Ruka laughed as Natsume continued to prod and tease the brunette. When it finally ended with Mikan sticking her tongue out at the dragon, the blond prince admonished, "Natsume, you know I hate talking to you when you're in your dragon form. Why don't you change into your human form and maybe we can start a game of xiangqi?"

For some reason that Natsume refused to acknowledge, he had already been staring at Mikan so her reaction was the first he saw. First her forehead crinkled in confusion as she let Ruka's words settle into her brain, then after seeing Prince Ruka's guileless face and Natsume's slight terror, her eyes had gone wide and her jaw had gone slack with shock. Then her face scrunched up with anger.

Seeing her expression, Natsume didn't know why, but he felt a little... _guilty_. He pulled away a bit and quietly, shyly shifted into his human form for Mikan to see for the first time. Was she angry at him for not telling her that he could change? Did she feel betrayed that he had kept such a huge part of him a secret?

As a human, Natsume stood quite a bit taller than Mikan, but beneath her brewing gaze, he was a worker ant cowering before his queen, naked and miniscule under her scrutiny.

(Thank goodness for the magic in his veins, however, that he was _not_ naked.)

He had done something wrong, he knew it. Prince Ruka, at first oblivious to the growing tension, said, "Thank you, Natsume. Where is that nice armchair that was here last time? I feel like we have a whole lifetime to share. A nice cup of tea sounds fulfilling right now."

Mikan opened her mouth, but instead of her voice, Nonno's appeared: "What a refreshing bath! I am ready for an afternoon bite and a nice long nap next to the warm, warm drag - Oh."

Certainly Nonno had not expected into stumble onto such a scene where Mikan was fuming, a human Natsume looked sheepish, and a handsome stranger slowly slid a smile off his face.

Mikan was the first to react and whipped her head to look at her grandfather with a ferocious smile.

"Oh, good. Grandpa, could you prepare some food while Natsume and I go have a chat in the corner real quick?"

Natsume hastily responded to the imminent danger he saw and tried to avoid it. "No, I don't think that's necessary. Your grandpa's old now; he needs to rest. I can cook dinner."

" _Natsume_ ," threatened Mikan with a stern warning glare. That was all she needed to say. The easy escape would be shift back into his dragon form and fly away, far far _far_ away, to another mountain and hole up there instead and never have to look Mikan in the eyes anymore.

But Natsume knew he didn't want to live his life that way anymore so he followed Mikan silently into a tunnel to one of his treasure rooms, head down and preparing himself.

Nonno and Ruka stood there, not knowing what to do. Then Ruka turned to the elder and offered a smile and a handshake.

"Hello, I'm Prince Ruka. Nice to meet you."

* * *

Understandably, predictably, Mikan started very angrily with her biggest concerns: "You saw me _naked_! You _let_ me undress in front of you." She picked up a crown and flung it at him, causing Natsume to duck swiftly. "You absolute pervert!"

"I'm still a dragon so it's no big deal. It's like changing in front of a cat or a dog," he repeated her own words back at her.

Mikan gaped, her face oddly fish-like in that moment. "You're also a _man_." Her cheeks flushed as she finally took the time to absorb the entire sight of Natsume in all his human glory, all lean muscle and thick dark hair and tanned skin and big hands and bright eyes….

"Some of the time, yes, I can be human," he conceded, but even that admission did not pacify the fuming Mikan, who subtly snapped out of her visual appreciation. "And yes, I may have neglected to reveal this little fact to you. Why does it bother you so much?

"Natsume!" she sputtered as she tried to find her words. "You're a _man_ , and I'm a _woman_ , and - and, I acted so friendly with you." Almost in horror, she whispered, "We've _slept_ together! We've slept together and cuddled together and I've touched you so casually. It's about - about honor and virtue, _my_ virtue!"

"Your virtue is still intact," insisted Natsume, "we didn't _do_ anything!"

Mikan shook her head in frustration, then demanded, "Explain, Natsume, explain to me what you are, what you're doing here, and why you think you could just happen to _not_ inform me of your humanness."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the other cave, a different kind of interrogation was taking place.

"So," started Nonno slowly with an intensity in his eyes, "you're a prince."

Ruka smiled genially. "Yes."

"You are going to be king soon?" inquired Mikan's adoring grandfather, whose last and greatest wish was to see Mikan settled comfortably in the arms of someone who loved her, preferably knocked up by a handsome and loving man.

"Not for a while, no. Father wants me to learn more about the land and about her people before I take control of it all."

"Ah. You betrothed to a nice girl yet?"

"Uh, no." Against his will, Ruka could feel himself heating up at the mention of marriage. "My family doesn't believe in those kind of laws anymore. We are free to love and to marry whomever we wish."

"Delightful. So do you currently hold romantic relations with anyone at the moment?"

Ruka's cheeks burned more. "I do not." Who was this bold, brash, unabashed old man?

"Perfect," mumbled Nonno.

"What?"

"Why don't we go for a little stroll?" Without much of an advisory, Nonno began down the path again, and Ruka absentmindedly followed. "Tell me more about yourself, young man. What do you like to do on your days when you aren't a prince?"

"I love animals," offered Ruka, the statement sounding more like a question.

"Is that so? My granddaughter, Mikan, bless her soul, loves animals, too! When she was younger and could talk, she would…."

* * *

First, Natsume found those delightful, comfortable armchairs Ruka had mentioned. Then, when Mikan was all settled in, Natsume told her how he came from the north, from a clan of shape-shifters, how his family took the form of dragons when they so desired, how he loved his mother and his sister.

There were some things Natsume didn't have to explain with words, but rather with meaningful glances and trailed off implications that Mikan understood: how he enjoyed solitude, how he could be grouchy and have mood swings, how he preferred to live at his own independent pace, how he liked to escape on night flights, how to liked to hole up in mountains for months.

He spoke about how the clan was dwindling, how members were spreading to all corners of the world, how he had met Ruka when he caught Natsume eating several goats, how as a member of one of the strongest and most enduring bloodlines, his family decided to arrange a marriage between him and another powerful shapeshifter, Nobara Ibaragi, and loathing this decision, how he decided to fly far far away and stay in this mountain.

"We are meant to wed before the year ends whenever I decide to return home. Even my own family doesn't know when that will be," concluded Natsume.

Over the course of the story, Mikan had grown less agitated and begun to look at Natsume with a different look in her eye, a kind of wariness.

"Natsume," she began quietly, "how long has your family been waiting for you?"

"Maybe about… seven months or so," guessed Natsume, rolling numbers in his head. He hated how Mikan's expression changed as soon as he answered, the way her eyes shut and her shoulders fell.

Forget about him not telling her about her shapeshifting abilities; he had done something worse.

"Seven months, Natsume? When was the last time they heard from you?"

"About seven months ago."

"And they don't know where you are?"

All Natsume could do was offer a shrug. "They've always known I liked to disappear for long periods of time… by myself…"

Within an instant, her expression snapped into something fierce, a mixture of disappointment, reproach, and resolve. "Natsume. You listen to me carefully. I know I nag you a lot, but your family cares about you and they love you, and I know you love them, too. I know it's hard to do things you don't want to, and I know it's easy to take a shortcut around life, but you can _not_ disappear like this and leave them hanging for months. Not even letting know you're safe? Your mother and your sister could be constantly worried every single day, wondering if you're alive or not. And not to mention, your fiancee."

Natsume's heart lurched. He had never wanted Mikan, wonderful loving Mikan, to ever talk about his fiancee, the one who wasn't her.

Mikan's voice didn't waver: "You said you're supposed to be wed before the year ends, but the year's end comes in less than six weeks. When were you planning on returning and marrying her? What if she loves you and has spent all this time worrying about you as well?"

"She doesn't love me," he said beseechingly, trying to convey a message to Mikan. "She's frigid and cold, and I don't love her."

"Even so, Natsume," continued Mikan patiently, "if you don't love her, you still have the duty to tell her so. Go back, Natsume, and let your family know you're safe. I know you want to be independent, but there are ways to do it with honor and pride instead of running away and hiding away from problems, from things you don't want."

Her words felt like a dismissal, and in such a commanding presence, Natsume withered. In her eyes, in her world where she cared for her grandfather and chased after Nonno when he went missing and stayed with him no matter how odd the circumstances, Natsume had abandoned his family. He had chosen the easy way out.

Mikan: honest, dutiful, pious, determined, full of integrity and honor.

Natsume could only dream of being with someone that true, brave, and pure. And there was only one way to regain the favor in her eyes, of reclaiming his worth.

"I will," he promised fervently, "I will go back to my family, and I will tell Nobara that I don't love her, because Mikan, I - "

"Mikan, Natsume, dinner is ready! Time to get up!"

* * *

Natsume could have sworn he had fainted or something of the sort because one moment, he was ready to profess his love for Mikan and ask her to stay with him after figuring out everything with his family and becoming the man worthy enough to be her husband and the father of her children, then the next, Nonno had burst into the room and ushered both of them to dinner, where currently Mikan, Ruka, and Nonno were cheerfully chatting and laughing and eating rice and sausage.

Briefly, Nonno and Mikan had laughed about the whole Natsume being human situation, which had earned him one last scowl and a warning from Mikan, and then brushed it off as an old joke from the past.

And the more and more the three of them laughed at the table, the more Natsume realized how much he wanted to be alone. He just couldn't do it; there was too much noise, too much distraction. His skin itched to transform into scales, to feel the liberating wings grow and take him far far away. Quiet and space; he needed to think.

Nonno glanced at Natsume's brooding expression, the robotic way he shoveled rice into his mouth, the distant look in his eyes. Then he looked at his glowing, precious granddaughter and the surely smitten Prince Ruka, who became more and more taken with Mikan with each moment they shared and each laugh they had.

He would talk to Natsume later.

* * *

Later became a broken promise as Natsume retreated into his own solitude, eliciting an understanding look from Mikan and a, "He's always needed some space for himself," from Ruka.

From their mutual understanding of Natsume blossomed other topics, and soon enough, Mikan and Ruka found themselves talking into the night.

"Your best friend is _the_ incredibly terrifying and heartless Imai? The merchant?"

"Yes!" confirmed Mikan with a brilliant smile. "I know she acts so cold at times, but she's honestly my best and closest friend in the world!"

Her enthusiasm quickly turned into wistfulness. "I miss her a lot," she confided, "and even though I've always know her dream was to become wealthy, I can't help but wish she stayed in the village and could spend time with me."

Without missing a beat, Ruka asked, "Do you want to go see her? Before I left, I believe she established herself in our court and is currently gaining prestige as a cunning and resourceful merchant. I'm not sure what her current plans are, if she plans to travel to other kingdoms, but I'm sure we could go see her."

"Really? I would love to see her again!" Mikan's eyes sparkled, even in the moonlight.

In front of such a radiant face, Ruka's only answer was, "Of course we can go."

* * *

During the night, Natsume had dwelled on his thoughts and on his feelings, and he had fallen into an uneasy rest, a stressful sleep interspersed with panicked awakenings and fitful slumbers.

However, as the sun rose, he still could not find his answer. He wanted to tell Mikan he loved her and how he wished they could live together side-by-side and how he desired to spend endless days with her, listening to her or simply in silence. He also knew he needed to break off his engagement and stand up to his mother. But he wanted to enjoy as much as he could with Mikan, and besides, with six weeks left in the year, he had time, didn't he? But how could Mikan ever possibly want him? How could she ever want to start a family with someone who didn't have a sense of duty to it?

Agitated and plagued with these questions, he stared at the cave wall for several minutes as he heard the usual bustle of Mikan preparing breakfast. Was he ready to face her again? He felt like a coward after their talk yesterday. He hadn't even been able to tell her his true feelings. Well, it wasn't his fault Nonno interrupted them, but still, he could have taken the initiative to pull her aside.

But why were she and Ruka acting like that last night, acting so friendly toward each other? His face darkened as he felt the flames of jealousy lick at his insides. How dare she berate herself for acting so friendly with Natsume when she so easily made friends with Ruka?

His mind was a tangled, jumbled, rampant mess. But finally, after so much thinking, after focusing so much on Mikan, he felt it; he felt the urge to take action.

He _needed_ to get up, to do something, and to take control of his future.

 _yes yes yes yes yes yes yes_

He was ready.

"Natsume?" called out Mikan's voice tepidly, and her timing simply confirmed Natsume's thoughts. It was time. He would do everything he needed to make sure he had the future he wanted, Mikan included.

With sudden energy, he followed Mikan's voice out into the main cave where he was ready, ready to grab ahold of his destiny, ready to be the man/dragon Mikan deserved at her side, ready to stop running away, ready to face reality for what it was; _ready_.

Then he saw them. Both of them were laughing happily as Mikan was helping Ruka strap on a pack. They were standing so close.

"Oh, thank goodness, we were hoping you would wake up before we left, Natsume," said Mikan brightly, approaching him. "Listen, I've already talked to grandpa, and I know you've already recovered, and I hate to leave on such short notice, but my best friend, Hotaru, is staying in Ruka's court, and he's offered to take me with him back to go see her before she might travel to other places. She never really does keep me updated so I really want to go see her."

"Oh, okay." Then after a few awkward moments: "Safe travels."

Mikan nodded and smiled. "Take care of yourself." Without warning, she opened her arms and gave Natsume a hug. "Nonno will be staying a couple more days, but our friend, Nonoko, should also be stopping by soon to check in on you two."

She pulled away before Natsume could truly appreciate her embrace. She raised a hand to his cheek and patted it affectionately. Natsume wanted to catch her hand and keep it there, pressed against his cheek, or take it and kiss it.

But he did none of those things as Ruka and Mikan bade him farewell and walked away together.

Despite the odd crushing and twisting sensation in his chest, Natsume, more than before, felt the fire inside him; he needed to go and find his family and tell them and his fiancee what he truly wanted. He needed to stop hiding from the undesirables of life and to face reality head-on. He needed to change his destiny because the only other future he saw for himself had just walked away with another man.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I do not like writing action scenes; that was probably the toughest thing I had to write. It's also been a while so I may have deviated from the original plot. And yes, this chapter is nearly twice as long as the other chapters.

It was very rushed so please excuse any inconsistencies or mistakes!

The end draws very close.


End file.
